The Trials and Tribulations of a Wizarding War
by Science-Fantasy93
Summary: Ron is bitten by Fenrir Greyback during a fight, and Draco joins the OOTP after his parents were killed by Voldemort.  He joins Harry, Ginny, and Hermione on the hunt for the horcruxes.  But could feelings-gasp-be developing between HG/DM?  HG/DM HP/GW
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, so this is my first fanfic, and I'm not overly fond of the prologue - but I like the next few chapters much better, so if this chapter sucks, just bear with me please! And if you love Ron, this is probably safe for you to read (for the most part) just as long as you're aware that this is a Dramione story.**_

_**Anyway, let the fun begin...!**_

Prologue

The three teenagers appeared out of nowhere at the edge of a town, looking the worst for wear. Their clothes were torn, their hair dark with soot, and they sported half-healed burns. They had barely gotten their footing when a lynx patronus appeared out of nowhere. "Order of the phoenix is being attacked by death eaters." The slow, deep voice, normally so soothing, now sounded urgent and scared, and Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger turned to one another.

"They're at my Auntie Muriel's," Ron said. "All of them."

With nary a glance at each other, they grasped each other's hands and spun on the spot, disappearing into suffocating darkness. They appeared in front of a nit-picky Victorian style manor.

"That's not good," Hermione said nervously. "Didn't they have a Fidelius charm on the house?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, his voice tight with fear as he nodded. "And the door's been blasted open." Sure enough, the door laid on the floor inwards, and had the look of being trampled on by a dozen or so people. The three of them made a dash for the house, realizing at the same time that it wouldn't do them any good to stand around talking. They pounded through the entrance hall into the elegant sitting room, which admittedly didn't look so elegant now. Furniture was upturned, there were blood stains on the carpet, and black marks on the walls. Light was flashing from one wand to another, and people were repeatedly diving behind couches and underneath tables to avoid the curses.

Harry raised his wand: "Expelliarmus!" he roared, and the death eater that was in the process of sending a curse at Ron's younger sister, and Harry's ex-girlfriend, Ginny, felt his wand go flying out of his hand.

Hermione pointed her own wand at the death eater's wand. "Accio wand!" It went zooming to her and she caught it neatly, pocketing it in her robes.

Ron jerked his own wand at another death eater. "Petrificus Totalus!" he yelled, and the death eater's limbs snapped together, causing him to fall and land with a loud THUMP.

Ginny pointed her wand at another death eater and screamed out the bat-bogey hex. Harry smiled as the death eater found himself fighting away the spell, and Fred and George

Weasley, the twenty-year-old twins, shot out the jelly-legs jinx at the only death eater standing.

"We really should do something about all these death eaters lying on the floor, they don't add much to the décor," Fred commented as they all got out from behind the furniture.

"True. So should we kill them, or just torture them for information?" George asked sarcastically.

"What're we, turning into bloody death eaters now?"

"I say we wipe their memories and then apparate them somewhere on the other side of the world," Nymphadora Tonks said as she brushed her robes off. Her hair was a plain light brown for once, and pulled back. Hermione had no doubt that was to disguise herself, so that she wouldn't stand out in the middle of a fight. Tonks concentrated for a moment, and her hair became a brilliant pink, and was now short and spiky. Her husband, Remus Lupin, came out too, and slipped his arm around his wife.

"Come on, we need to go check on little Teddy, make sure your mother's all right."

"Oh, I'm fine," said Andromeda Tonks as she walked into the room, holding a baby boy no older than a few weeks, although his hair was a pastel blue. "And so is Teddy. Here you are Dora." She handed Tonks her son and both Tonks and Lupin held him close, as if they never wanted to let him go.

Ron slipped his arm around Hermione's shoulder, and she snuggled into him. Harry went over to Ginny and wordlessly slipped his arms around her, and she buried her face into his chest, as if they had never parted, as if he had never left her to protect her from the death eaters and Voldemort. Fleur Delacour Weasley, Bill's wife, also slid into his arms. Molly and Arthur Weasley were arm in arm, looking very relieved that everyone had come out of the fight alive.

And then…

Harry's scar exploded. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head in agony, feeling as if his head was about to split in two, with his scar at the seam.

"Harry!" he heard Ginny scream, and felt her drop down in front of him, hands on either side of his face. "Is he – ?"

"Having a vision of You-Know-Who," Hermione confirmed.

_**"They've fallen," Lord Voldemort said in his high-pitched, cruel voice. "I need people now. I **__**am sure that Harry Potter is there, that was the point of the attack on the Order of **__**the Phoenix. We **__**need to go now!"**_

_**"Of course, my Lord," said Bellatrix Lestrange. "Rodulphus and I will come with you. We all **__**will."**_

_**Voldemort looked around at his supporters. "Very well. The ones who were sent to the **__**Order of the Phoenix are under the Imperius curse – how useful that spell does come in **__**at times."**_

_**There was a wave of coldness as everyone laughed. Everyone, that is, except for three people: **__**Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco Malfoy. Draco stood beside his mother, his father on **__**Narcissa's other side. **__**At seventeen, he was tall, with white blond hair and gray eyes that were currently flitting around, **__**filled with terror. He resembled both of his parents, **__**who were both tall and blond, although he had **__**his father's eyes.**_

_**"My Lord," Lucius spoke up, his voice shaking as if he was terrified. "Should we go – ?"**_

_**Voldemort turned to him, his eyes cold. "I think not, Lucius. You see, you have failed me once **__**too many times, and that is not counting your blunder from today. You allowed **__**Potter and his **__**blood-traitor and mudblood friends to escape from Gringotts, with the cup from Hufflepuff. That **__**cannot be forgiven."**_

_**"M-my Lord," Lucius stumbled. "I swear my Lord, I warned the goblins, honestly I did!"**_

_**Voldemort stared unblinkingly at Lucius. "You are quite right, Lucius. The goblins do need, **__**and will be, punished."**_

_**A look of relief crossed all of the Malfoys faces. "M-my Lord, you are too – "**_

_**But Voldemort held up his hand. "Nonetheless, Lucius, you allowed Potter and his friends to **__**escape from the Ministry of Magic, and got you and your fellow comrades arrested. **__**Your wand failed **__**me. Harry Potter was able to destroy it. And last but certainly not least, you allowed Potter and his **__**friends to escape from your own house. No, no, no Lucius, **__**you be punished justly for your actions."**_

_**"But, m-m-my Lord, I did not mean – it was an accident!"**_

_**Voldemort ignored him, and instead pointing his wand at Lucius. "Avada Kedavra!" and with **__**a flash of blinding green light, Lucius Malfoy crumpled to the ground, dead.**_

_**Both Draco and Narcissa let out screams and they collapsed to their knees, beside the dead **__**Lucius.**_

_**"YOU KILLED HIM!" Narcissa screeched at Voldemort, tears pouring down her face. "YOU **__**KILLED MY HUSBAND! I'LL KILL YOU!" She stuffed her hand into the pocket of her **__**robes, but **__**Voldemort was too quick for her. **_

_**"Avada Kedavra!" and Narcissa fell on her side, still and silent.**_

_**Draco's face was now white – he appeared to be in shock.**_

_**"Now Draco, do you have anything you would like to say to me?"**_

_**Draco shook his head, jaw set, eyes blank. "No my Lord," he whispered.**_

_**"Good. In that case, you shall accompany us on our mission to the Order of the Phoenix. Let's **__**go."**_

Harry's eyes popped open. He was lying on his back on the floor, Ginny sitting next to him, cross legged, squeezing her hand in his own. He sat up so suddenly that the entire room seemed to jump in alarm. "They're coming," he breathed out, his mouth dry. "You-Know-Who, and his death eaters. These are just the ones who were imperiused." He gestured to the masked people lying motionless on the floor. "And…" he took a deep breath, "he murdered Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, for punishment. He's got Draco Malfoy with him. They're coming _**now**_! We have to get out!"

Everyone was making a run for the door, shooting protection and defensive spells to try and hide the house for as long as possible, when there were a dozen or so loud popping sounds, and every single death eater apparated into the room. There were blazes of light, the shouts of curses, people once more diving out of the way and huddling behind furniture, and just total utter confusion. Hermione and Ginny crouched behind an overturned couch and aimed spells at Antonin Dolohov and Yaxley, causing them to fall.

"YOU!" Ginny screamed, turning her wand onto someone else. Hermione spun her upper body to, and found Draco Malfoy kneeling beside them.

"Oh, hey Granger, Weasel-ette," he greeted them, aiming a spell at Travers. "So how's it going?"

"Quick question Malfoy," Hermione said brusquely as she shot a spell at Alecto Carrow while Malfoy stunned Alecto's brother, Amycus, Ginny shooting a spell at a death eater neither girlrecognized. "How come you're cursing the death eaters? Aren't you supposed to be on their side?"

Malfoy turned to look at her, an odd expression on his face. "He killed my parents. He's been making me torture people. I need a quick escape, and this is the only way I can get out. I'm going to make an escape once the coast is clear."

Hermione and Ginny nodded. It did make sense.

Meanwhile, Harry, Tonks, Lupin, Minerva McGonagall, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, were all dueling Voldemort. He couldn't seem to get an edge on them, but they were just as far away from defeating him. No one was watching Ron and Fenrir Greyback, but there was a sudden shift, and as one, Lupin and Greyback began bursting out of their clothes, while growing fangs, pointed ears, and furry faces.

"Oh my – " Hermione gasped out. "It's the full moon!"

"Lupin took his potion, he's safe, but Greyback – !" Ginny cried.

"And Ron's closest!" Hermione squealed. As one, the three began shooting curses at Greyback.

Greyback fell back onto his back, and with a growl, made a leap, dodging their curses, and fell on Ron, who let out a yell. It was as if everything had stopped moving. Even Voldemort and Harry had paused to watch. Malfoy was the only who seemed to get past the horror of what was about to happen. He yelled, "Crucio!" and the spell hit Greyback, who reared back in pain, but another death eater shot a spell at Malfoy, who just barely ducked in time to avoid it. There was another moment of silence as Greyback panted, growing still and dangerous once more. And then as one, the Order of the Phoenix reacted, aiming curse upon curse at Greyback, but just as they hit, Greyback sank his teeth into Ron's arm, who roared with pain.

"_**NO**_!" Harry, Hermione, Ginny, the twins, Bill, Charlie Weasley, Molly and Arthur, and every other person in the Order of the Phoenix screamed out.

It was perhaps one of the worst moments for them all, as they watched Ron begin to transform. First his teeth, and then his ears; his snout, his face; he was growing hair all over his face and body, and then his clothes were ripping at the seams, and he let out a howl.

Hermione fought back tears. This could not be happening…

Ron and Lupin seemed to read each other's minds – they both made leaps and landed right on Fenrir Greyback, biting, scratching, and kicking him, as though desperate to tear him apart. The death eaters launched spells at them, and both Order of the Phoenix werewolves were thrown back, away from the death eater-werewolf.

In the confusion, Malfoy nodded to Hermione and Ginny. "That's my cue. Good luck." Keeping as low to the ground as possible, he made a run for it, right out the door. Hermione could see him escaping past the boundaries, and twisting, disappearing into the growing darkness.

Voldemort shouted something to his comrades, and with that, they apparated too, as if realizing defeat.

There was silence, and then Ron turned and scampered out the front door, tail between his legs, as if he was intent on getting as far away from them as possible. Hermione screamed his name, but Ginny and Harry pulled her back, saying there was nothing they could do for him now. And with that, Hermione sat back on her heels, tears streaming down her face, as Harry and Ginny hugged her tightly.

"I found him," Lupin said as he walked into his wife's mother's sitting room, where everyone was sitting, clutching mugs of hot chocolate and tea, heads bowed, barely talking. After the death eaters had left, the Order had apparated to Andromeda's house, which was set up with as many protection spells as was possible, including the Fidelius charm. That, it turned out, was what Muriel's house had lacked: The Fidelius charm – they had completely forgotten to cast it.

Everyone looked up eagerly at Lupin. "He's pretty out of it, but I managed to slip him the wolfsbane potion, so he shouldn't be dangerous."

"Where is he?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her eyes puffy, her cheeks blotchy.

"I apparated him to the backyard," Lupin told her. "He should stay out there for tonight, but he'll be back to – well, not normal, but something resembling normal in the morning. But don't be surprised if he doesn't want to talk to anyone, he's just had a terrible change, this is going to take awhile, he'll have a hard time being close to anyone."

Everyone nodded, although no one said anything. No one wanted to think about the change that would now affect Ron. Lupin had demonstrated for years how hard it was to be a werewolf, and now Ron…Hermione gave a dry sob, and Harry wrapped one arm around her – the other arm wasaround Ginny, as luck would have it – and squeezed her shoulders. "He'll be okay," he murmured gently. "Won't he?" he added, looking up desperately at Lupin.

Lupin dropped down on the floor beside Tonks, who kissed him on the cheek. "It'll be a major adjustment, but I'll help him."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I wasn't J.K Rowling - hang on - nope, just checked again, I'm definitely not her. Dang :(_**

**_Now...my thank yous...:_**

**_Thank you to Princess Patterson - my very first reviewer. Your review meant the world to me, you are AWESOME!_**

**_To the people who have already clicked on the story alert or favorite (or both!) buttons - you know who you are, and you guys are FANTASTIC!_**

**_You group of wonderful people (those mentioned in the three sentences above) turned an extremely crappy day (complete with exhaustion, headache, and lots of homework) and turned it around. I even got rid of my headache, so I guess I owe you guys a headache cure :)_**

**_To everyone else who has taken a chance on my story or will take a chance on it - you guys deserve cake! And I would bake you one if I had any ounce of culinary skills in my veins, but unfortunately my mom got all of said skills, so I have to content myself with writing and music (although I much prefer that fate =D)!_**

**_I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!_**

Chapter One – Even Ferrets Have Problems

Draco apparated to a desolate forest, looking around, praying that none of the death eaters had been able to follow him. They shouldn't be able to, but they had uncanny ways of tracking someone. For all he knew, they could track someone with a dark mark.

The woods were dark, and he was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. But he couldn't think about that. For now, he had to set up camp with the meager supplies that he had, and he had to let Snape know where he was. Severus Snape was probably the only person whom he could trust at this point. Well, all right, he thought the Order might be trustworthy. For one thing, Granger and Weasel-ette hadn't hexed him into Russia, and had accepted his story – which was, for all you doubters out there, the truth – but had let him escape quietly. But he wasn't sure how he could contact them. He had no idea where they were now. Snape was in the Order, and he was a master at deceiving everyone, including the Dark Lord. The Malfoys were some of the few people who knew that Snape was a double agent, and was actually working for the Order of the Phoenix. Snape had just recently revealed some of his memories of certain conversations with Dumbledore, right after the attack on the Order two months ago, the same day that the Dark Lord had killed his parents…

But no, he couldn't think that, he _**wouldn't **_think about that. It caused him too much pain to even reflect on it.

Draco had been on the run since that day, and had been out of contact with everyone. Two months was a long, long time to be all by yourself, with almost no human contact whatsoever, and to make matters worse, he had very little food. He was thin, ragged thin, and he was weak. He constantly felt as if he was on the verge of collapsing, and knew that he could no longer make it on his own. He needed help.

Grasping his wand, summoning up all of his remaining strength, he roared, "Expecto Patronum!"

His patronus, a large dog of some kind, appeared out of the end of his wand. He performed the spell to make it talk and recorded his message, before sending it off to wherever Snape would be. Wearily, he sank down onto the forest floor and leaned up against the tree, closing his eyes.

"I will kill you Voldemort, if it's the last thing I do." He didn't mean to say it out loud, but the moment he did, he knew he was in trouble. At once he leapt to his feet, and was about to apparate and send another message to Snape when there was a popping sound and every single death eater that he had ever met appeared.

He was trapped, more trapped than he had ever been in his life. His aunt Bellatrix, who was as deranged as they came, almost as deranged as the Dark Lord, pointed her wand at him.

With an evil cackle, she screamed, "Crucio!" and he fell to the ground. It was horrible, all he knew was pain, it was as if white hot knives were cutting into his skin, into his very bones, and all he wanted was for it to stop, for someone to make it go away. He felt someone kick him in the face, and then in the ribs, but the pain was nothing – _**nothing**_ – compared to the Cruciatus curse. He was losing it, he was going to go insane from the pain, he would end up exactly like his aunt, or even worse, like his former master. And then he no longer knew where he was, he no longer knew anything, not even his own name, all he knew was pain, and that the pain would never go away, that life was pain itself, and all he wanted was for it to end, to die, because surely death would be painless…And there was another popping sound, and several screams, and the pain died away, but before he could quite comprehend that, everything went black.

"How is he?" Snape asked, his usual sneer twisted into a look of concern as Hermione and Harry came down into the kitchen at number 12 Grimmauld Place. They had recast the Fidelius charm, along with every single protective and defensive spell they could find, even ones that Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin had made up, ones that could detect the Imperius curse, polyjuice potion, a disguise, or the dark mark. Snape was branded with the dark mark, so someone had to let him in and out of the Order's headquarters, casting the reversal spell just long enough for him to slip into the hallway.

Snape had gotten Malfoy's message and had alerted the only Order members that were currently at Grimmauld Place – Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Kingsley. The five of them had headed out and rescued Malfoy from Bellatrix Lestrange, and had brought him back to headquarters for the time being. Kingsley had headed off to a meeting with Mundungus Fletcher – Order of the Phoenix's resident sneak, thief, and con artist – to buy something very important, although Kingsley hadn't elaborated on what it was.

Ginny and Snape had both sported wounds, so they had washed up while Harry and Hermione tended to Malfoy; Ginny was still upstairs, but from the sounds of her feet on the floor upstairs, she would be down soon.

"He's still unconscious," Harry said as he threw himself down at the table, Hermione sitting down beside him. "Hermione healed him as best she could, but…"

"His ribs are going to take some time, and his face still looks like someone stomped on it."

Harry snorted. "Probably because someone did. And here I was under the impression that the death eaters thought that nothing was worth doing if it didn't involve using magic inappropriately."

Snape shrugged, his sneer back on his face. "There are plenty of things you need to learn about the death eaters, Potter."

"And I intend to," Harry countered calmly.

Hermione dropped her head into hands.

"You okay Hermione?" Harry asked, placing his hand on her back.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hermione replied tiredly. "Just exhausted."

Snape glanced at his watch. "I hope Kingsley hurries up with the package."

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

Snape stared at her. "It's a sort of, well, for lack of a better word – collar. It's got a strong truth spell on it, and it can be locked on. And there's no way around it, so if Draco has it on – "

"We can interrogate him without having to worry he's lying," Harry finished.

"Interrogate who?" Ginny asked as she walked into the kitchen. She put an arm around Harry's neck and kissed him on the cheek. She plopped down in the chair beside him, and he slid his arm around her waist.

"Malfoy," Harry said, rubbing his temples.

"Ah." There was a moment of silence, and then Ginny looked apologetically at Hermione. "Have you heard from Ron?"

After the initial shock of turning into a werewolf had worn off, Ron had been sent off on a mission by the Order, to mingle with a group of fellow werewolves who were neutral in the war. Ron's job was to try to change their minds and to join the anti-Voldemort movement.

Hermione shook her head, biting her lip to keep from crying. This was her initial reaction whenever Ron's name came up. She just missed him so freaking much. It hurt more than anyone could imagine – well, with the exception of Harry, Ginny, and Snape. During the last year, Harry and Ginny had been separated, because Harry was off with Ron and Hermione, searching for horcruxes, and Ginny was trapped at Hogwarts under the new regime. Snape had secretly been in love with Harry's mother, Lily, for years and years, but she had never found out, and in the end she had married James Potter, and then they had been killed by Voldemort nearly seventeen years ago. Coincidentally, the day Harry had escaped from Voldemort with just a lightning shaped scar on his forehead.

Ginny reached over and patted her on the arm. "Don't worry Hermione, I'm sure you'll hear from him soon."

Before Hermione could say anything to this, they heard the front door open, and the sound of Kingsley calling to them. They all leapt to their feet and trooped up the stairs, wands out and pointing at his chest. "What's your codename on Potterwatch?" Harry demanded roughly.

"Romulus," Kingsley replied calmly. Despite all of their anti-death eater spells, they still asked each other questions just to ensure that a death eater hadn't managed to get in on a fluke.

They dropped their wands, and Kingsley pulled a parcel wrapped in brown paper out of his cloak. "Here it is," he said. "And I've got a tracking spell on Mundungus incase he just sold me a fake truth collar."

"Guess that means we should try it out," Hermione said, and Kingsley nodded.

"Well? Who wants to be the first to try and lie?" Snape asked silkily.

"I'll do it," Harry volunteered, but Kingsley shook his head.

"No Harry, if this is a spell gone wrong, you're much too valuable. I'll do it." He unwrapped the package, and with Harry's and Snape's help, fastened the silver collar around his neck. It was thick, and fit like a choker. Kingsley handed Harry a key out of the paper, and he locked it, before dropping the key into his jeans pocket.

"All right, try and lie," Snape said, leaning back against the wall, hands behind his head as if this was the Quidditch World Cup, and not a potentially dangerous experiment.

"You're the most selfless person in the world," Kingsley hissed, and a split second later, he yelped in pain as the collar lit up yellow. "Ow! It's like an electric shock."

"All right, now try and tell the truth," Snape ordered.

"You're mean," Kingsley retorted. Nothing happened.

"All right, now try to lie straight out, not just what you believe is a lie."

"I never got my apparition license – ow!" Kingsley rubbed his neck. "Okay…I passed my apparition test on the first try." Once more, nothing happened, and Kingsley nodded in satisfaction, Harry unlocked the collar. "Guess that means we had better go and check on Mr. Malfoy. "The group paraded up the stairs, to the room where Malfoy was currently staying in. Malfoy appeared to be just waking him. His eyelids fluttered, and a moment later, his eyes opened. "Where am I?" he croaked, his voice hoarse.

Hermione poured him a glass of water from the pitcher on the bedside table, and he drank it gratefully.

"Draco," Snape said smoothly, "we have something you're going to need to wear until we're absolutely positive that you can be trusted."

"What is it?" Malfoy asked, leaning wearily back against the pillows.

"I – " Hermione tugged at Snape's elbow. "What is it Miss Granger?" he asked impatiently.

"Hasn't he already been through an ordeal? Should we really force it on him while he's in bed?"

"Oh all right, we'll take him downstairs."

"Wha – ? What the hell's going on?" Malfoy nearly shouted as Snape and Harry pulled him out of the bed. He was still in the plaid pajama bottoms that they had stuffed him in, and his chest was wrapped in bandages.

"We'll get him dressed, you two wait downstairs," Snape ordered Hermione and Ginny.

The nodded in agreement and headed down to the sitting room. A few minutes later, the four men appeared, Malfoy now in jeans and a t-shirt. He looked like he was in an extremely bad mood. Snape and Kingsley were holding by his arms, and Harry was walking backwards, his wand out.

"He's putting up quite a fuss," Snape said calmly. "I believe that has to do with the last two months, but one can never be too sure." He and Kingsley shoved Malfoy into an armchair, with Harry still pointing his wand at him.

"Wands out, I'm putting it on him," Kingsley informed them. "Hold him down," he added to Snape and Harry. Hermione and Ginny pulled their wands out and directed them at Malfoy.

It was like a nightmare. Instead of seeing the Order members, all Draco could see was Voldemort pointing his wand at him, torturing him into painful oblivion, until Draco had lost his voicefrom screaming. He watched in horror as Voldemort roared "Avada Kedavra!" first as his father, and then at his mother. He could feel Bellatrix torturing him in the woods, and then he flashed back to the day a year ago, when he had faced Voldemort for the first time after he had failed to kill Dumbledore. Voldemort had tortured him for what felt like days, and then…Draco twisted and yelled in fear and pain as the death eaters held his arms down, and he waited, waited, for the pain to come…

And he cowered as the beating began….

His nose was breaking, his ribs shattering, his eyes throbbed, his head ached…there wasn't a part of him that wasn't screaming in insane agony…

…And then he felt someone shaking him, and yelling in his ear, and he came back to…He was in a vaguely familiar sitting room, and he couldn't feel any pain, but there was something cold and metal around his neck. Snape was standing beside him, his hand on Draco's shoulder. Draco turned to look at him, and some of his fear and pain must have been reflected in his gray eyes, because a look of concern and understanding flashed over Snape's face. "Still?" he murmured.

Reluctantly, Draco nodded.

"What's going on?" he heard an all-too familiar voice, and turned to find Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley pointing their wands at him. Harry Potter and Kingsley Shacklebolt were on his other side, and Draco suddenly knew who had been restraining him.

He put his hand up to his neck, and felt a thick metal – something – hanging around his throat.

"What the hell is this?"

"A truth collar," Kingsley replied.

"I'm not wearing it," he declared brashly. "If I have to wear it, then I'm leaving." He made to stand up, but then the three men were back, holding him down.

"We can't keep on doing this while we question him," Potter called over his shoulder, his hand resting roughly on Draco's collarbone.

There was a pause as everyone processed this new information…And then Kingsley spoke –

"Hermione, you need to sit on Mr. Malfoy."

**_Okay, so this chapter has a bit of an abrupt ending. The original chapter was super long, I had to split it into three parts, although I might decide to combine the two remaining parts into one. Well, we'll see :) Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Read and review please, I'd love to hear your opinions on the story thus far (although if you have any critiques, could you be so kind as to put it nicely, and not just come right out and tell me my story sucks? Thanks =D) xD Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Here it is: Chapter Two! YEA!_**

**_Princess Patterson: I hope I answered one of your questions in this chapter. The other one will be answered in the next one ;) I'm glad you're happy Draco was rescued; truthfully, so was I, and I'm the one writing this! And by the way, thank you so, so much for reviewing and letting me hear your thoughts, I hadn't even considered those questions, so hopefully this chapter will be a tiny bit better because of it. Cheers! ;)  
_**

Chapter Two – The Mud-Blood, the Ferret, and the Twins, oh my!

There was silence following Kingsley's rather shocking announcement…

…And then –

"NO FREAKING WAY!" Granger screamed out.

"There's no other option, Hermione, it's the only way to hold him down."

"But – "

"Hermione, we need you to do this," Potter said quietly. "He's thrashing around so much, he needs to be held down. He could hurt us, or himself."

"He's not now."

"But what if he starts back up again? Or what if he _**really**_ decides to put up a fight and try

to escape? Please Hermione, this is for the Order."

"Well, why can't Ginny?"

"Because she's so tiny, he'll be able to throw her off, no problem," Snape snapped.

The Weasel-ette shrugged. True enough, she really was small. She was barely five feet, and weighed about ninety pounds, whereas Granger was about five-five and was around one-hundred-and-twenty pounds. "Don't blame me, blame Mum's genes," the Weasel-ette replied.

"But – oh, all right." She gave in, defeated. With a feeling of horror, Draco watched as the mud-blood came closer, until she had crawled into his lap, her legs around his waist.

"You know Granger," he couldn't help himself, "I don't usually let girls put their legs around my waist until we hit the mattress."

"Bastard," she snapped back.

"I think he was just telling the truth right there," Weasel-ette muttered to Potter. "The truth collar didn't go off."

"Malfoy in bed with a girl? That's a scary thought," Potter murmured right back.

"Oh, look who's not getting any?" Draco jeered at them, barely knowing what he was doing…She was so close…Her hands were on his shoulders, and he prayed she couldn't feel his heart speeding up…Wait – why was he reacting this way to _**Granger**_, to a filthy _**mudblood**_? And why did he immediately assume it was some sort of attraction? It couldn't be, he was just scared of having her so close to him.

That made sense.

Potter and Weasel-ette both had murderous looks on their faces, and just as they were both opening their mouths, Kingsley raised his wand, and cast the shield charm. "Try not to lose your temper, Harry, Ginny. We might be needing his help."

"God, I feel as if I'm about to vomit," Weasel-ette muttered.

"I know the feeling Weasley, look who's got her limbs all over me." He felt a stinging pain across his face. Granger had slapped him. But she still hadn't gotten up off of him. "So," he murmured, just loud enough for the others to hear, "bet this is a real treat for you, eh Granger? Sitting in my lap? I bet this is the closest you'll ever get to a true pureblood. After all, what lowborn mud-blood wouldn't want their legs around a Malfoys' waist? _**Ow**_!" she had slapped him again.

"Am I going to have to cast a shield charm between you two too?" Kingsley demanded exasperatedly.

"No, no, let's just get on with the interrogation," Granger said hurriedly.

And so it began…

"Did you leave the death eaters for good?" Kingsley asked.

Draco nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I hate them – I hate Vol – the Dark Lord. He killed my parents." He felt his voice crack.

"Did you always feel this way?"

"Yes! OW!" he felt as if he had gotten an electric shock, and he clutched at his neck. "What the hell happened?"

"You lied, so it shocked you," Granger said calmly.

"Okay, fine, I didn't begin to feel this way until my sixth year at Hogwarts."

"Why did you begin to feel this way?" Kingsley wanted to know.

"I didn't want to kill anyone," he whispered, startled at hearing the words he hadn't dared to think fall from his lips.

Kingsley nodded.

There were a few more questions, mostly about death eater tactics and their headquarters, and did he by any chance know where the Dark Lord was disappearing to (only they didn't use _**Dark Lord**_ – they used the _**Chief Death Eater**_). Just as it looked like they were finishing up, a door upstairs slammed shut, and the Weasley twins came into the room a minute later.

"Wow," one of the twins said as both did a double-take. "That's not a sight I ever thought I would see." He nodded at Granger, who still had her legs around Draco's waist.

"Shut it Fred, it's just to hold him down, he was being really uncooperative," Weasel-ette snarled back.

"Lucky guy, if that's what would happen every time I was uncooperative, I wouldn't agree to anything," the other twin said with a cheeky wink, and Granger twisted around just in time to see it.

"If you don't shut up George, you're going to lose your only ear."

Kingsley cleared his throat. "Any questions you would like to ask Mr. Malfoy? Fred? George?"

"Yeah," said the one with both of his ears still attached to his head. "Why are you such a git?"

"I refuse to answer on that on the grounds that it is insulting and has nothing to do with my relationship with the death eaters or the Dark Lord," Draco replied haughtily.

"Can't argue with that," Kingsley gave in. "You're done. You can go back upstairs to bed if you want. Hermione, you can get off his lap now." Granger clambered away from Draco as if he had some sort of contagious disease that she was terrified of contracting, and Draco stood up.

"I think we should change his bandages first," Granger said. Draco wondered for a moment how she knew he had the bandages still on under his t-shirt, and then reminded himself at how close she had just been to him. "And then he should get some food."

"We'll go work on dinner," Weasel-ette said and grabbed Potter's hand. "Come on Harry."

They disappeared through the door, and Draco heard them head downstairs.

"Now why were you guys interrogating the ferret?" the twin with both ears asked. "I thought Harry saw the Chief Death Eater murder his parents."

"Visions can be planted in Harry's head, such as with the Ministry of Magic fiasco," Kingsley explained. "This could've been a ruse to allow a spy into the Order of the Phoenix. We needed to be one-hundred-and-fifty percent sure."

"And were you?" the one-eared twin asked.

"We are now." Kingsley glanced at Draco and Granger who were still waiting around, Draco wondering if he was going to be questioned again. This whole experience didn't exactly make him feel overly safe. However, as much as he hated to admit it, he could see their reasoning - they had practically no reason _**to **_trust him. But that still didn't make him feel very good about his current position.

"Seriously, you two can go leave, you're done," Kingsley said. "Fred, George, any word from your brother?"

Draco and Granger had been halfway out the door when Granger's face had turned stark white and her eyes had gone glassy. She turned back to listen. "Granger?" But she didn't seem to hear. She was too busy staring at the Weasel twins, straining to hear everything they said about their brother.

"Yeah, everything's going good, about half of them seem receptive. But Ron's struggling to change the other's minds. Damn werewolves, they are so effing stubborn. And cracked. Why else would they be content to be neutral in the war?" answered the one-eared Weasley twin.

Ah. Draco could feel his mind beginning to put the pieces together. So Granger's boyfriend, one-third of the golden trio, the one who had been turned into a werewolf by Fenrir Greyback, was off trying to turn some neutral werewolves to the side of good. But why was Granger looking so…well, so not Granger-like? Was she worried about her boyfriend? Or was there another reason?

**_Okay, this chapter is a bit shorter than the other two, but like I said before, I ended up splitting the original first chapter into three parts. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this! Read and review and let me know what you think, and if you have any questions about the story, or any_ _corrections or criticism, please, PLEASE let me know, and if I can, I'll fix it or add an explanation for it into a later chapter. _**

**_Happy reading!  
_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Thank you so much to everyone who put an alert on this story, or has read it!__! It means the world to me, and I'm really glad you guys like the story so far, or at the very least are interested in it. Either way, thank you!  
_**

**_Oh, and I only own the plot in this story, but unfortunately, J.K Rowling was the genius, and I'm just a teenager who loves the Harry Potter series, and enjoys writing just as much ;)_**

* * *

Chapter Three – The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Mouth Shut

"Granger, I thought you were supposed to be changing my bandages," Draco finally said, and she seemed to jerk out of her stupor.

"What? Oh – right – yes – come on," and they headed back to Draco's room, stopping in Granger's room just long enough for her to grab the bag in which she kept her healing supplies. Draco pulled his shirt off and Granger unwrapped the bandages. She winced.

"Well?" he asked. "How bad is it?"

Granger looked up at him. "I've seen worse."

"That's not an answer."

"It looks bad, but it'll heal."

Draco glanced down at his chest and ribcage. Sure enough, there were mottled blue, yellow, purple, and red bruises spanning across his upper body. He also flinched. He shifted a bit, and nearly hollered as a stabbing sensation went through his ribs.

Granger pursed her lips. "I'll go downstairs and get you some ice for the worst of it."

Draco nodded, and watched as she left the room. He slowly lowered himself down into a sitting position on the bed, thinking about what he had heard about Ronald Weasley, and Granger's reaction.

Did she love him? Could she honestly be in love with the Weasel? Love was a mysterious and foreign concept to Draco. Except for his parents, and maybe Snape, he couldn't say he had ever loved anyone in his entire life. Not even his friends, or his only serious girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson. _**Especially**_ not Pansy Parkinson. God, she had been annoying at the best of times, although she was so in awe of him, and so…willing…that it sort of made up for her irritating behavior. What was it like? It couldn't be that great, not if it caused you so much pain…But then he thought about Potter and Weasel-ette, and how they had acted. They were obviously as in love with each other as his parents had been, probably even more. Potter looked at Weasel-ette as if he would jump in front of a killing curse for her, as if he would go anywhere just to be with her, and Weasel-ette looked back at him as if she couldn't see anyone else in the world, as if there _**wasn't**_ anyone else.

_**It must be nice**_, he reflected moodily as he gingerly laid down on his bed, head against the pillows, _**to have that with someone, to know that no matter what happens, the other person will always have your back, to be willing to take the pain and torture and suffering for you, like Weasley was willing to do for Granger when he was begging to be tortured instead of her at my house last March; and to know that the other person will go to any lengths to comfort you, to hold you, even when you're at your worse**_.

He couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have that with someone, and unbidden, as sudden as if he had been slapped across the face once more, Granger's face came into his mind. He could see her eyes as clearly as if she was a mere inch away from him. She seemed to genuinely want to help him, or at least she didn't want him to hurt,which was truly nice. And he had a feeling that she truly _**was**_ nice. And he…well, he…wasn't…And maybe if he was, his life would have turned out differently. Maybe he would be in the arms of his dream girl, whoever that might be. Maybe he wouldn't have gone through the torture, and wouldn't be condemned to relive his worst memories as if there was a dementor in the room with him at all times. And maybe, just maybe, his parents would still be alive. Maybe he wouldn't have been forced to watch Voldemort murder them.

He closed his eyes, feeling his throat tighten, and he willed himself not to cry, because he was terrified that if he did, he would never stop, that he would be swamped in unbearable pain, pain that hurt so much worse than the Cruciatus curse, because it was emotional and he would never resurface, that he would live the rest of his life in utter agony…

Hermione walked into the kitchen and found Harry and Ginny standing at the stove, with a huge pot on one of the burners. Harry was slicing up carrots, and Ginny was using her wand to cut strips of beef off of a huge roast.

* * *

"Hey Hermione," Ginny said brightly. "How's Malfoy?"

Hermione shrugged as she went to the icebox and opened it, pulling out every single icepack that she could find. "His ribs look pretty bad, so I'm getting ice." She grabbed a bunch of cloths out of one of the upper cupboards, to use as a medium between Malfoy's skin and the ice. She made the swish and flick motion with her wand: "_**Windgardium Leviosa**_!" and the ice packs rose into the air in front of her.

"Good luck with dinner," she called as she transported the ice packs out of the kitchen, following closely behind them. She directed them back up the stairs and to Malfoy's room.

He was lying on his bed, his eyes closed, his hands folded behind his head. He opened on eye as she walked in. "I got as many ice packs as I could find," she said, and paused, waiting for him to move, wondering if he would prefer to put the ice packs on himself. Surely he knew better than her what hurt the worst…

As she waited, she let her eyes travel over his upper body. She had to admit, beside the bruises, he didn't look half bad. A half a second later, she felt the bile raise in her throat. She did _**not**_ just think that. This was Draco Malfoy she was looking at, _**not**_ Ron Weasley. Malfoy had been an absolute jackass to her from the second they had stepped into Hogwarts, and he still hadn't thanked her for helping him. How's that for gratitude?

But at the same time, she was a girl, and seeing as how the only boys here at the moment were like her brothers, she had to admire _**someone**_, _**sometime**_, even if it was Draco Malfoy. And he was built…But another second later she had snapped herself out of it. No, she couldn't even go there. She hated him, absolutely hated him, and wanted nothing to do with him, but her Gryffindor chivalry had gotten the best of her, so she was helping him, even though he didn't deserve it. Or maybe he did…His parents did just die after all. They had been murdered right in front of him…

"Do you want the ice packs, or should I do it?" she finally asked.

"Hand me a couple," he said, and she wordlessly handed them over, along with the rags. With a sigh, followed by a yelp, he smoothed the cloths over the worst of his bruises, before resting the ice packs on top.

"All right Healer Granger, how long should I keep these on?"

Hermione sighed, raking her fingers through her hair. "Twenty minutes or so." She turned to go, but before she even made it more than a couple of steps, Malfoy called after her:

"You don't have to leave you know. Please stay." There was an imploring note in his voice, a plea, and Hermione found herself moving back over to the bed, and sitting down by his legs.

"Why do you want me to stay?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged as best as he could, and then re-steadied the ice packs that had slipped down a bit at the motion. "I just – I haven't had any human companionship for over two months. I'd just like to talk, or something…" his voice trailed off, and Hermione peered at him. He looked the worst for wear. He was thinner than what he should have been (despite the fact that he had killer abs) and his face was gaunt and drawn. He seemed…old. Older than his eighteen years. He was nothing like the haughty boy who had once paraded around Hogwarts like he owned the place.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked him cautiously.

"I dunno. Anything. What's up with you and Weasley? Are you still dating?"

Hermione turned her face away from him and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Er, no, not anymore. He broke up with me after he became a werewolf, after he got sent off on an assignment for the Order."

"To try and gain the support of neutral werewolves?"

When Hermione turned her head back sharply, he shrugged again and once more had to readjust the ice packs.

"I was there in the room with you when the Weasel twins and Kingsley were talking."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, well, that's what he's doing all right."

"Why'd he break up with you?" Malfoy sounded genuinely curious. Doubtlessly it was because he hadn't been able to talk to anyone for a long time, or because he hadn't eaten properly for days, probably weeks. Because the old Malfoy would never be that interested in hers and Ron's love life. Hermione shrugged. "He doesn't think it would be safe for me. Young werewolves are dangerous. They have this temper, and it follows them around for ages, until they begin to get more of a handle on their animal instincts. Plus, he's trying to act as if he's left the Order, as if he's not working for them."

"Yet he's trying to recruit the werewolves to help the cause. That makes perfect sense." Sarcasm trickled through Malfoy's voice.

"Yes, well, it's very complicated and Lupin's been talking him through the process."

Malfoy snorted. "The complicated process of being a werewolf. Must be hard. After all, he has to roll around with other werewolves and act like an animal…Must be torture."

"If you're going to make jokes – !" Hermione began haughtily, making to stand up.

"What's the matter?" Malfoy jeered, and guessed rightly. "Did I just hit a nerve?"

"Yes!" Hermione cried. "You practically just accused him of – of – !" But she was so horrified, so flabbergasted, that her sentence broke off before she had actually ended it.

"Of sleeping around with other werewolves – _**female**_ werewolves?" He paused, as if waiting for Hermione to snap at him, but she was opening and closing her mouth, not able to get any words past her tongue.

"Lucky guy, he must be enjoying himself. Imagine, all those female animals in heat…!" He growled to punctuate the statement, and the effect on Hermione was instantaneous.

She leapt to her feet, her temper rising. Malfoy yelped as the mattress sprung back up, throwing him back a little, making his ribs split in pain once more.

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP!" she pulled her wand out of her jeans pocket, and pointed it at him, shaking with anger, but as he stared up at her, silver eyes glassy and blank, she felt her wrist go limp.

"Forget it _**ferret**_, you're not worth the energy!" and she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think? Think Draco is confusing? I would be more than happy to hear from you guys, but believe me, even if I don't, I'll still post chapters, because fan fic au__thors who do that are really annoying._**

**_I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! And remember, if you have any questions, please ask me, and I'll do my best to explain them in a later chapter :)_**

**_Lots of love,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Hi everyone! This chapter's a bit longer than the last two, and I have both Hermione and Draco's POVs in this one, so I hope it's okay :)_**

**_Spikeecat: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I'm every bit as glad you think Draco is an "insensitive prat" to quote you. That's what I was going for :) Well, Draco does get an earful, just not from the two characters you named. You see, I actually had this chapter written by the time I posted Chapter Three, but believe me, Draco is not done with the insensitive prat-nish, so he'll probably get himself into trouble with the two characters you mentioned :)_**

**_Princess Patterson: Thanks, I'm happy you liked the chapter! Maybe it was a bit overboard for Hermione to slap Draco, but like you said, she's taking her anger out on him. Please remember that her (ex)-boyfriend is a werewolf, and he broke up with her over it. She's not too happy with the world right now. And Draco was being crude and insulting to her :) Thank you for reminding me about the horcruxes! I had almost forgotten about them, but they should be mentioned in a couple of chapters, the chapter I'm working on now. You'll get your answer then, but for a hint, think about where the story began ;)_**

**_Also HUGE THANKS to the people who put story alerts on this story! Seriously, reviews and story alerts can turn a crappy day into a good one! No joke, I'm actually completely serious :) So THANK YOU!_**

* * *

Chapter Four – Manners, Draco Malfoy, Manners

* * *

Hermione stomped into the kitchen, huffing with anger, eyes blazing, a ferocious scowl on her face, and her bushy brown hair snapping and crackling with electricity.

"That _**foul**_ – how _**dare**_ he – I –!" she gasped out to Harry, who was now watching the beef stew, and Ginny, who had just slipped a loaf of bread into the oven.

Ginny slapped the yeast off of her palms before turning to Hermione. "Let me guess – things didn't go so well with Ferret-Boy?"

Harry snorted at Ginny's name for Malfoy, but didn't say anything.

"He had the nerve – the absolute _**nerve**_! – to suggest that Ron might be – that he is – that he –!" Too overcome with anger once more, she could not finish her sentence.

"That Ron might be what?" Harry asked as he stirred the stew.

"That Ron might be – might be – might be - might be sleeping with other werewolves…with _**female**_ werewolves!" Hermione burst out. "In the biblical sense!" she added as if she hadn't

made her meaning perfectly clear.

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other.

"Hermione," Ginny began cautiously, "you do remember what Lupin said, don't you? That new werewolves in their teens and early twenties tend to be a bit…well…horny…for the first couple of years, especially during the full moon?"

"I – well – _**of course**_ I remember! But just because Lupin said it doesn't mean it's _**true**_!"

"Hermione," Harry began, but was cut off.

"I mean, he broke _**up**_ with me! If he wanted to – to – you know – wouldn't he have stayed with me?"

"Hermione – " Ginny tried, but was also interrupted by Hermione.

"He broke up with me to keep me safe, because as a young werewolf he's unpredictable and dangerous."

"HERMIONE LET US TALK!" Ginny screamed out, just as Hermione was taking a deep breath to continue. She promptly shut her mouth and looked at Ginny.

"Hermione," Ginny said in a gentler voice, "just because he tried to protect you doesn't mean anything. When he's a werewolf he doesn't know what he's doing. It's not him, you have to remember that. It's not Ron."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Ginny's right, Hermione. Whatever Ron does when he's a werewolf, it's not necessarily something he would do when he's in his human form."

Hermione nodded and sank down wearily into a chair. "Could one of you two take Malfoy's dinner up to him? I don't feel like putting up with the ferret right now."

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other again. "I suppose one of us could do it," Harry agreed slowly.

"Do what?" Kingsley asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Take Malfoy's dinner up to him," Ginny explained. "Malfoy upset Hermione, and we were just discussing which one of us should…"

"I'll do it," Kingsley said. "I want to talk to him, let him know we won't tolerate any of his crap here."

The three teenagers exchanged glances before nodding.

"Sounds good to me," Ginny said with a smile. "By the way Kingsley, where were you?"

"The library, I was looking up more protective spells for this place."

"Careful, or else you're going to turn in to Hermione," Harry teased.

"And she was the best in your year, wasn't she?" Kingsley shot back with a grin.

"Yes, so don't put down the library," Hermione jumped in.

* * *

Draco was leaning back up against the pillows of his bed, his head tipped back into the top of the cushions, staring at the shadowy ceiling. He was reliving one of his childhood memories.

He had been about six, and he and his parents and aunt Bellatrix and uncle Rodulphus were spending Christmas here, at their cousins' Black's house. His great-aunt Black, Sirius and Regulus Black's mother, was the only one in her family who was still alive or who she was still speaking to. Her husband had died a couple of years before, Regulus had been killed by Voldemort, and Sirius was in Azkaban. Her only company was the house-elf, Kreacher, and he was ancient.

He remembered Christmas Eve, all too clearly for his own taste. He had been passing by the drawing room on his way upstairs to bed. It was about nine-o-clock, and his stomach was full of roast beef and lamb, roasted potatoes and carrots, cheesecake, chocolate pudding with red and green sprinkles, and hot chocolate, quite a feast for such a small boy. He had been startled when he had heard the voice, like a cloth being dragged over a rusty nail, yet still loud and shrill.

"Draco…Draco…My dear boy…Won't you come in and give your great aunty Lefania Black a kiss goodnight?"

The simple request had sounded like a threat, so, heart pounding in his thin chest, Draco had walked into the drawing room. His great-aunt Black had been sitting in a green and black armchair.

The room was dark, with only a single candle glowing, and Lefania's face was in the shadows. Gingerly Draco crept forward until he could stood in front of his great-aunt. Even though he couldn't see her very well, he knew her skin was white with a yellowish tinge, and was papery and thin. Her eyes were yellow, like a cat's, and she no doubt wore the same sweeping black Victorian gown and cap that she always wore. He could hear her long, bone-thin fingers tapping on the arms of the chair.

Feeling a bit scared, as that was his instinctive reaction around his great-aunt, he bent down to press his lips to her cheek, but his chin was caught in her hand. He winced as one of the goblin-made rings with the Black family crest on it caught his lip. Lefania moved the candle that stood on the table beside the chair she sat in, and held it up to examine Draco.

"Yes," she wisped out. "Soooo much like your mother, a proud and respected Black, with the same noble bearings as befits us, but you have your father's eyes…Eyes that won't stand for any riff-raff." She leaned forward. "Do you know the day you were born, I went to a seer, Cassandra Trelawny, and asked her to look into your future?"

Draco shook his head stiffly, trying not to get his lip caught again.

"Yes, my dear boy, yes. She told me that you would be a disgrace to the pureblooded name, although how she did not say. But those eyes…She was so obviously wrong…Those eyes show that you will never – _**never**_ – step away from your future as a pureblood. Of course, she was getting on by this time, old and worn out. She so obviously made a mistake. Because if she did…" she gripped Draco's chin all the harder and stroked the back of her finger against his bottom lip, making sure her rings dug into his already bleeding flesh. "Well, you can imagine what it would be like. But you will never disgrace us, now will you Draco? _**Now will you**_?" Her voice was hard and cold as she uttered the last sentence, and Draco shuddered.

"Of course not great-Aunty Lefania," he said. "I promise I will never be a disgrace to the name of the pureblooded."

Mistress Black took her hand away from Draco. "Good…Good…Your mother and father taught you well, I see…Well, are you going to kiss me goodnight?"

So Draco bent down once again and pressed his lips to her crinkly cheek, and then hurried out of the drawing room and up to one of the bathrooms as fast as he could, where he had washed the blood away from his lip as best he could, and rubbed a magic disinfector over the wound before running off to bed, and climbing in, pulling the blankets straight up over his head, shivering. His great-aunt scared him, and this last encounter had been particularly frightening…

There was a loud knock on his bedroom door, knocking him out of this particular memory.

"Yeah, what is it?" he called, and Kingsley Shacklebolt came in, carrying a tray laden with a bowl of beef stew, bread, and hot tea.

"I brought you dinner," he explained, nodding towards the tray. "I also wanted to talk to you." He set the tray across Draco's knees, and Draco dug into his stew, relishing the strong taste of beef, carrots, onions, and peas, closing his eyes happily as the mix slid down his throat. This was the first real meal he had had in two months, and he planned on enjoying it.

"Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley began gently, sitting down gingerly on the end of the bed, "I know you just got here and this all must be a major change for you. But Hermione…She didn't appreciate some of the accusations you directed at Ron."

Draco swallowed a huge lump of meat. "Even if they're true?"

"Even if they are…Look, Hermione is going through a tough time, and she really doesn't need you making it even worse. So please watch what you say about Ron to – well – any of us really, because he's a touchy subject for all of us at the moment."

"Because no one likes to see their kid get turned into a monster?" Draco taunted.

"He's not a monster."

"Oh yeah? Tell me, how did the werewolf react when he managed to get back to the house? According to Snape, he had a right temper tantrum, breaking lamps, smashing dishes, the whole nine yards."

Kingsley's face paled. "That's not important."

"Isn't it? You say he isn't a monster, but it sounded like he smashed up half of Andromeda Tonks' house. What would you call that?"

"Someone who just went through a terrible ordeal," Kingsley retorted, his voice chilly. "He didn't ask for this, and he never wanted it. He has every right to be angry, to be furious, to be _**livid**_; anyone would be – including you, Mr. Malfoy."

"So you're all babying the Weasel, not wanting to hear the truth about him?"

"He hasn't gotten his werewolf instincts, emotions, or temper under control yet. Once he does, then we'll get on him for doing stupid stuff, but right now, he doesn't know what he's doing."

Draco didn't respond; instead he just finished his stew and started on the first of the two slices of bread.

"One more thing, Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley added. "This attitude of yours – treating Hermione like crap in particular – "

"Wait just one second!" Draco cried, tiny bits of chewed-up bread flying everywhere. "I haven't even begun to give her a bad time, I have yet to call her a _**beaver**_, which is what she is, or make a comment about her hair! I make _**one little comment**_ about Saint Weasel and – "

"It wasn't just _**one little comment**_," Kingsley spat out. "And even if it was…You can't go around aggravating people like that, because all it's going to get you is being tossed back out on the street with your memory wiped clean of this particular experience."

"Memory charms can be broken, the Dark Lord and Bertha Jorkins proved that," Draco snarled.

"We'll make sure we put an extremely powerful one on you then," Kingsley snapped back. "Just watch what you say, all right Mr. Malfoy? Just watch what you say, and everything will be fine."

"Right," Draco quipped, "we'll all end up as BFFs and we'll skip into the sunset holding hands and singing _**Kumbaya**_. Just one question – are there going to be giant candy canes on the way to the sunset? Or a Yellow Brick Road?"

"And how on earth do you know about _**Kumbaya **_and the Yellow Brick Road? The Yellow Brick Road is from a muggle movie, and _**Kumbaya **_is both muggle and, I believe, American."

Draco shrugged. "Father made me take Muggle Studies so I could see what a load of shit it would be. He used to have me write home and tell him all about the crack-pot crap I was learning about."

"Your father sounds like he was a lovely man," Kingsley commented dryly as he stood up.

"Would you like anything else?"

"More stew and bread," Draco said, setting the mug of tea on the nightstand and making to hand over the tray, but Kingsley kept his hands down. "Aren't you going to take the tray?"

"What do you say?"

"Take the damn tray!"

"How about something more polite?" Kingsley requested, his eyes twinkling a bit as if he was amused that an eighteen year old didn't know how to use the word 'please'.

"Oh no," Draco snapped. "Oh no. You are not going to make me say the word – I'm a Malfoy, and Malfoys command and order, not beg."

"It's not begging. Now go on, say it."

When Draco continued to hesitate, Kingsley sighed. "In this house, you won't get anywhere if you don't know how to say your 'please's and 'thank you's'."

"Fine! PLEASE!"

Kingsley nodded. "That's a bit better. Tomorrow we'll work on you using your _**indoor voice**_."

He winked at Draco as he took the tray and left the room. Draco leaned back against his cushions once more, wondering what on earth he was getting himself into.

* * *

**_So how did you guys like it? Did I get Mistress Black's personality down okay? I was trying to make her extremely creepy, but I don't think I succeeded. I also hope Draco's mention of not calling Hermione a "beaver" was okay. I had originally had it down as "mudblood", but in one of the previous chapters I decided at the last minute to have him call her that, so having him insist he hadn't called her "mudblood" yet in this chapter wouldn't have worked. If you guys have any better suggestions, let me know :) And of course, I welcome any questions! :)  
_**

**_Either way, I hope you guys liked it!_**

**_Rock on!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Here's the fifth chapter, and one of my favorites so far! It's a little bit shorter than the last one, because it's only from Hermione's POV. I'm getting swamped with school work, so I might not be able to update for a few days_**. **_Hopefully that won't be the case because __I really like writing this story, but we'll see :)_**

**_Thank you Drusilla Maxima (awesome name by the way =D), I'm glad you're enjoying reading this :) Very true, Draco is extremely confusing, he can't seem to make up his mind._**

**_Thank to the people who once more hit the story alert button while reading this! It's nice to know that you guys are enjoying this story._**

**_As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not J.K Rowling. Seriously, please don't sue me, I'm just me! ;)  
_**

* * *

Chapter Five - It's So Nice to Know Some People Will Always Be Annoying Ferrets

"Here," Kingsley said, shoving the freshly laden tray into Hermione's hands.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Take it up to Mr. Malfoy."

"_**Why**_?"

"So he doesn't starve."

"I mean why does it have to be _**me**_?"

"Because you're going to have to face him eventually. Now scoot!"

Before Hermione could argue, Kingsley waved his wand and she felt her legs begin to move, carrying her entire body towards the steps leading up to the entrance hall without her permission.

"I WILL GET YOU BACK FOR THIS!" Hermione screamed over her shoulder as her legs brought her up the stairs to the upper floors.

A moment later, she found herself facing Malfoy's door. Reluctantly she knocked.

"Yeah," she heard the familiar voice drawl out, and she opened the door with one hand, balancing the tray on her knee with the other.

"It's me, with your second helpings," she informed him, before kicking the door close behind her.

He was lying in bed, his head turned away from her, apparently staring at the wall. Considering the fact that the wall was blank, Hermione had to wonder if he was high, since the wall appeared to be so totally fascinating that he wouldn't even look at her.

Hermione crossed the room and placed the tray across his knees. "Here you go. Don't bother thanking me, it's not as if I'm going out of my way to help you or anything."

"I wasn't going to."

Hermione turned towards the door and took several steps before spinning back around and bursting out: "You know Malfoy, you really are the biggest arse there is!"

"And you're a bitch. Glad we got that straightened out."

"It's not funny! We're all trying to help you here and you're acting like we're imprisoning you! Are you still mad about the truth collar, that we still haven't taken it off of you? Because we had no choice to put it on you in the first place, we needed to know for certain, and we're keeping the truth collar on for safety reasons, to ensure you don't change your mind and lie straight to our faces so you can escape. But I suppose that never occurred to you, seeing as how the world revolves around you and all that crap you're constantly spewing!"

This got Malfoy to turn his head. He glared ferociously at her. "Not that it's any of _**your**_ business Granger," he said disdainfully, "but it did occur to me, and I understand. If I was in yourposition I would do the same thing."

"Then why are you being such a freaking arse about everything?"

"Because I don't like feeling like I'm at the mercy of the Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Freaking-Die, the Weasel-ette who thinks she's so great just because she's snagged the Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Freaking-Die, you, Gryffindor's most adored mudblood, and the rest of this gang of freaks and thieves and who-knows-what else!"

"Gee Malfoy, don't hold it back, let me know how you _**really**_ feel," Hermione sniped.

Without any conscious thought, she advanced on him, a furious look upon her face. "If that's the way you feel then why on earth are you even here? If you hate us all so much, why the hell did you ask for our help?"

"Because I had no other choice!" Malfoy yelled. "It was either this or be hunted down, tortured and humiliated, and then murdered like…like…"

"Like a mudblood?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling calm in complete contradiction to Malfoy's temper-tantrum. She didn't know why, just that seeing him, the Prince of Slytherin, lose his cool made her realize just how human he really was, when for years he had just been a monster.

He glowered at her. "Fine, yes, like a mudblood. Like _**you**_, at my house last March."

Hermione couldn't repress a shudder as the memory came flooding back to her…It was as sharp as a blade, and the reminder of the Cruciatus curse being used on her again and again and again by Malfoy's insane aunt, Bellatrix, suddenly made her entire body sting and ache. She clutched at her throat, fingers sliding over the knife wound Bellatrix had inflicted on her. It was now a scar, white and jagged, standing out against her neck every time she swallowed.

"So as you can see," Malfoy continued," you guys – this _**Order of the Phoenix**_, which from what I've seen is really just a band of misfits – were the lesser of the two evils, the better choice, even if I hate it here."

"We're not a band of misfits," Hermione insisted. "I mean, yeah, we've got Mundungus Fletcher, and goodness knows, the company he keeps…But the rest of us had perfectly respectable lives before the war."

"You're misfits to me until I see otherwise," Malfoy countered calmly.

"Fine," Hermione retorted angrily. "But with that attitude, you won't last here long. And then you'll really be in trouble. Because, guess what Malfoy, without us, you wouldn't even be alive right now. Or if you were, you would be laying on the rug in the drawing room, right where I was four months ago, being tortured into insanity by your equally crazed aunt. Think about it, because we're your best option, and if you don't like it, well, that's just too freaking bad."

She made to leave again, but Malfoy called out to her before she could even get more than a couple of steps towards the door.

"Wait – I suppose – I mean – I suppose I could try – how bad could it be?"

Hermione felt her lips tug upwards into a smile. "It could be a lot worse."

"Yeah, I suppose it could be…All right…Ummm…Where do I begin?"

"Begin with saying something nice about dinner."

"Ummm…all right…The stew and bread and tea was very good. You band of misfits really do know how to cook."

Hermione grinned outright now. "Damn straight Malfoy, and don't you forget it."

"Careful mudblood," he warned her. "I said I'd give being nice a try, but that doesn't mean I'm going to joke around with you."

"Duly noted," Hermione answered. "Well, I'll come back up later to fetch the tray." And she left, thinking, _**I guess some things – or people – never change**_.

* * *

**_So what did you guys think of Draco's change of heart? Did I have him agree to be cooperative too soon, or did Hermione make a convincing enough argument?_ _I hope you guys enjoyed their short bicker-fest, I really enjoyed writing it :) Questions, comments, anything, let me know!_**

**_Ciao,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Here's chapter six! I actually had wrote this a couple of days ago, and was planning on posting it yesterday, but then - guess what! - the power went out, so that idea flew out the window. So here it is. This is one of my favorite chapters so far, so I really (REALLY) hope you guys like it! Oh, and there's some Harry/Ginny in this as well - just a tiny bit, but it's still in there :)_**

**_Thank you to everyone who put an alert on my story, it means the world to me! Hugs!_**

**_Now I'll shut up so you guys can read the chapter ;)_**Chapter Six – A Necessary Evil

* * *

The next few days went by in a blur. It wasn't long before Malfoy was out of bed and walking around. He got set to a list of chores, and put up the sort of fuss that would have caused Mrs. Weasley to swap him in the rear end with her broomstick.

"What on earth am I supposed to do with this?" he demanded, holding up _**Which-Witch-Is-**__**Which**_ Laundry detergent.

Hermione let out a huffy sigh from where she was feeling around in hers, Harry's, Ginny's, and Malfoy's clothes pockets to make sure they hadn't left anything important in them. "You pour it in, Malfoy."

"Where?"

"Into the washing machine. Lucky for you, this is a wizarding washing machine, so it just automatically washes and dries the clothes by itself, but you have to put in the laundry and the soap."

Malfoy made a face. "You mean I actually have to – " he gulped – "touch yours and the rest of this band of freaks' unmentionables?"

Hermione smirked. "As unhappy as I am at the prospect of you washing my bras, the look on your face completely makes up for it."

Malfoy glowered at her as she pushed one basket of clothes (there were four – no one in the house enjoyed doing laundry, and they usually put it off as long as possible, until they were nearly at the point of resorting to wearing old Daily Prophets held together with Spellotape) towards him, and he dipped his thumb and index finger in and held up one of Harry's t-shirts.

"I don't see why I have to do chores anyway. I never had to chores at my house."

"And are you at your house now, Malfoy? _**No**_. So stop your complaining and get on with it."

"Fine," he conceded, and she turned back around to continue sorting clothes. She heard him tap his wand against the appliance, and it began streaming water. She could hear the _**fump**_, _**fump**_, of the clothes as he gingerly – and with many disgusted breaths – dropped them into the basin. There was the rattling sound, reminiscent of sand in someone's shoes, as he dumped the detergent in after the clothes. And then he yelled.

Hermione spun back around just in time to find the washing machine spitting the detergent and laundry back out at him. He was covered head-to-toe in half-formed soap bubbles and water.

"What the hell…?" he gasped out.

Hermione couldn't help it. The sight of him literally dripping bubbles and water, with an outraged look on his face and one of her own plaid, flannel button-up shirts hanging off of his head, sent her into rib-cracking laughter. He glared at her again, this time with his hands on her hips, which in turn caused her to fall to her knees.

"STOP IT!" he roared. "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" This of course just prodded her to fall forward, rolling around on the ground, shaking so hard she felt as if she was about to have a seizure.

It was several minutes before she managed to get her laughter under control. She laid on the hard cold stone floor, looking up at him, a giggle escaping from her mouth every now and then. He glared down at her, the shirt still over his head, and still covered with water and laundry detergent. "Are you going to help me clean this mess up or not?" He indicated the mini-pond in the middle of the laundry room, where all the excess water had ended up at.

Hermione clambered to her feet. "I suppose." She waved her wand. "_**Scourgify**_!" Immediately the soap bubbles and water disappeared from the floor, and Malfoy dried himself off with a wave of his wand.

Hermione walked over to the washing machine and lifted the container of the detergent. It was a lot lighter than it had been when she had shoved it into Malfoy's hands.

"You used too much of this. The washing machine is slightly allergic, it can't handle too much. When you dumped it all in, it sneezed."

Malfoy stared at her, eyes wide, jaw nearly hitting the floor. "The appliance _**sneezed**_?" he demanded as if it was something _**strange**_.

Hermione nodded unconcernedly. "Yeah. It was allergic."

"Let me get this straight – the washing machine is allergic to laundry detergent."

Hermione nodded again, her large brown eyes blinking, feeling confused. He was acting like he had never heard of an allergic appliance. "Yes."

"And is the dishwasher allergic to the dish soap?" Malfoy demanded, arms crossed.

"No, but the stove can't handle too many heavy pots and pans anymore. When Sirius was alive, he told Harry, Ro – I mean us – that it could cook an entire feast at once, but it's getting on in years, and it has arthritis."

"I think I need to sit down," Malfoy said, sinking down onto the floor.

Hermione plopped down beside him. "I thought I was the muggle-born here. Weren't you ever around when Dobby or whoever was your servant at the time was doing the chores."

"Of course! But they were always done by hand."

* * *

Harry and Ginny sat in the library, Ginny in Harry's lap. With Hermione and Ferret-Boy in the laundry room just off the basement kitchen, and no one else in the house, they had some time to themselves.

Ginny let her lips float towards Harry's, pressing their mouths together. His arms tightened around her, and his tongue poked at the entrance to her mouth, asking, begging, _**pleading**_ to be let through. Ginny opened her mouth just enough to let his tongue in, and pressed her own between his lips. She swept her tongue around his teeth and his gums, and he shuddered at the feather-light feel of her tongue on the inside of his cheek. She raised her hand to his cheek, and stroked her thumb down his high cheekbone. He shivered again.

Suddenly, there was a loud _**pop**_ and a patronus in the form of a deer erupted in front of them.

"I am apparating to headquarters. Take down the charms so I can come in," Snape's voice echoed throughout the room.

Harry and Ginny exchanged dark glances, but nevertheless Ginny slid off of his lap and together they walked out of the room and to the entrance hall. Ginny opened the door, and Harry took the anti-death eater spells from the entrance. "You can come in now," he said to what no doubt looked like no one in particular, but a moment later, Snape appeared and hurried past them. He always performed a disillusionment charm before apparating to headquarters, because the anti-death eater spells prevented him from apparating directly onto the step; instead he had to settle for landing on the sidewalk outside numbers 11 and 13, as number 12 Grimmauld Place was invisible to anyone who had not been let in on the secret. The disillusionment charm was to disguise himself if any death eaters were lurking around.

"Where are Draco and Miss Granger?" he demanded once they had the door shut and the protective spells up.

"Downstairs, washing clothes," Ginny replied.

"Go and get them, I have something very important to discuss with all four of you. I will be in the library."

Harry and Ginny exchanged worried glances – what could have happened? – but did as they were told. They hurried down to the laundry room to find Hermione throwing the last garment into a laundry basket so it could get washed, and Malfoy shaking his head and muttering about sensitive appliances.

"Snape's upstairs," Harry spoke out. "He wants to talk to all of us, says it's important."

"All right," Hermione agreed, and Malfoy immediately brightened up at the news that his favorite teacher and godfather was here.

The four left the laundry room and headed into the kitchen, before tramping up the stairs. Hermione led the way to the library. It was a large room, with floor-to-ceiling bookcases hiding every inch of wall space, and dark crimson chairs and mahogany tables arranged throughout the place. Ladders leaned up against the bookcases, and oil lamps stood on the tables for reading light.

Snape had already placed himself in a chair in the darkest corner, the hem of his black robes sweeping his feet, his sleeves flapping over his hands and dripping down, and, not for the first time, Harry was reminded of a bat.

"Sit down," he said silkily, as if he owned this house, not Harry, but while at one time the three Gryffindors would have argued, they were much too worried about what he was about to tell them. Images of friends' and family's bodies paraded through their minds like some gruesome horror show – even in Draco's head, because he, as much as he hated to admit it, liked Kingsley and didn't want to see anything bad happen to him.

The four teenagers plopped down wearily into chairs and scooted in around Snape, so that he could tell them whatever he needed to tell them.

"Has something happened, Professor?" Hermione asked in a small voice.

Snape glanced at her sharply. "What – ? No, nothing at all. And that, Miss Granger, is the exact problem."

"What do you mean?" Harry wanted to know.

"This mission you two – " he pointed back and forth between Harry and Hermione " – are on has been temporarily abandoned, due to one of your number being turned into a werewolf. Am I correct?"

"Very much so," Hermione replied.

"But you have gotten rid of the locket, and have the cup?"

Both of them nodded.

"Where is it?"

"Upstairs in my bag," Hermione told him, while Ginny and Draco frowned in confusion.

Snape leaned back in his chair. "While Ronald Weasley was, I'm sure, in his own way an asset to the cause, the search must go on."

"But two people? We need at least three, if only because there is safety in numbers," Hermione cried.

Snape turned his head slowly to look at her, a smile twisting on his lips, snakelike. "Ah, but you will have four, instead of two, Miss Granger. You will have Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy here."

There was an instant uproar as everyone began shouting at once:

"There's no way in _**hell**_ I'm going to spend months and months with the leaders of Hogwarts' band-of-freaks, especially searching for something I don't know about!" Draco roared.

"Ginny can't come with us, it's too dangerous!" Harry yelled.

"Malfoy can't come with us, we'll end up killing each other, and Ginny isn't of age!" Hermione screamed.

"Is anyone going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Ginny screeched.

"I believe you have some explaining to do, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, but I urge you both to consider my suggestion. It might mean the turning point of the war, after all," Snape told them.

"Harry and I have to talk about this," Hermione said, and grabbed Harry by the sleeve, pulling him out of the room and to the sitting room. "Well?" she demanded. "What do you think of this?"

"I don't want Ginny to come with us," he said automatically. "It's too dangerous."

"What, and you think she's going to be safe _**here**_, at the headquarters? She's here because her family are all getting sent out on missions, and it's too dangerous anywhere else."

"My point exactly, this place has the best protection ever."

"But if the death eaters come knocking…Harry, wouldn't you like to know that she's safe?"

Harry paused. "Weren't you the one hollering about her being underage?"

"She's about to turn seventeen, next week actually. I was in too much shock to really think about what I was saying. But I think we should let her, she wants to be with you, and she wants to help win the war. She's a talented fighter, we could really use her help."

Harry leaned against the wall exhaustedly, running his hands through his messy jet black hair. "Maybe…"

"This is the best thing you can do for her Harry."

"Fine! But what about Malfoy?"

"He can't come with us."

"Hermione – "

"I'm serious! We'll tear each other apart!"

"Hermione, listen to reason. We could really use his help as well as Ginny's. He was a death eater, he knows how they operate, how they think, how they trap their victims. Plus, he probably knows curses that we could only have nightmares about. He could teach us how to become the ultimate fighters. I mean, we're good, but in a battle against several death eaters at once? I don't like the odds Hermione, I think we need him."

Hermione bit down on her bottom lip. "I suppose…"

"He can probably get us into places where only death eaters can get at. He might even have a few suggestions as to where the other horcruxes are, who knows what the Chief Death Eater let slip in front of him? He thought Malfoy was going to get killed by Dumbledore after all, he wouldn't have cared what Malfoy knew, because he knew he was a loyal, and figured he was going to be dead soon enough anyway. Think Hermione…We both know it's the best for the war…"

And Hermione nodded. "I suppose you're right. But that doesn't mean I like it!"

Harry grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "Come on, we need to go explain to Ginny and Malfoy what horcruxes are."

And they headed back into the library.

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think? Did you like it? How about the sneezing laundry machine (that was my favorite part)? Any questions, let me know :) By the way, I have a question for you guys: What did you think of Hermione and Draco's interaction in the beginning of the chapter? Did I get their personalities down okay?_**

**_Lots and lots of love,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93;)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Seven! WHOO! First off, the DISCLAIMER: I am not J.K Rowling, nor have I ever met her (although I would absolutely love to!), and Harry Potter belongs to her, ot__herwise I'd be out shopping or something with all the money I'd be making! BAM!_**

**_

* * *

_**

_**WARNING: This chapter has some physical angst in it - biting someone else, that sort of thing, and an appreciation for physical abuse. So if you don't like it, and honestly don't want to read it, I'll put up signs around the beginning of the angsty part and the ending of it, so you can just skip over it :) It's not too bad, I'm probably just overreacting, but I don't want anyone reading something they're not comfortable with. Plus there's strong language (in the angsty part). I know, ****terrible****...Oh, plus there's just the tiniest smidgen of smut (fairly PG), just to warn you guys :)  
**_

_**This, amazingly, is my very favorite chapter right now, I had a blast writing it. It's funny - it was a chapter I was planning from the very beginning, but I had been dreading it, but I enjoyed writing it even more than the last one, which I loved.**_

_**One more thing before I get onto my thank yous: I got the inspiration to write this chapter (I was planning it, I just wasn't sure how to write it) from listening to the Pretty Reckless's song, "Just Tonight". So if you guys like this chapter, and want to see one of the many strange places I get my inspiration from, go and check out the song =D**_

**_Now, my thank yous...:_**

**_AN ENORMOUS THANK YOU to OBLuvr13! I am so glad you're enjoying the story so far! I try to get their personalities down, they're so complicated though, I'm always discovering new things about them, and technically they're not even my characters [see disclaimer]. I'm also very happy you like the pace so far, I'm not overly fond of writing stories that have two characters falling in love with each other within the first two sentences (no offense to those people who write them or like them, it's just not my style). YOU ARE AWESOME!  
_**

**_A HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to those who favorited, story-alerted, author-alerted, and author-favorited me and this story, that made me so, so, sooooooo happy! YOU GUYS ARE FANTASTIC!_**

**_And now I'll shut up and let anyone who stayed with me through my ramblings read the chapter :)  
_**

* * *

Chapter Seven – The Agony of the Werewolf's Temper

Ginny's seventeenth birthday came and went. She got the usual watch from her parents, new sneakers from Hermione, a Quidditch book from Malfoy – yes, he actually gave her something – and a sapphire-set-in-gold earring/necklace/bracelet set from Harry. Malfoy's attitude had cleaned up a bit since he had been invited and accepted on the hunt for the horcruxes. He even made a point of not calling Hermione _**mudblood**_. Quite an achievement for him, wouldn't you say?

The foursome was preparing to leave once again. Hunting horcruxes from Grimmauld Place just wouldn't work – from experience, Harry, Hermione, Malfoy, and even Ginny had learnt that it was better to keep moving when death eaters were after you.

One evening a week and a half after Ginny's birthday, the four sat at the kitchen table, Ginny writing thank you cards to her family, most of whom had shown up to celebrate her birthday with her, although Ron hadn't. He had been a full-fledged werewolf on her birthday, and was therefore much too dangerous to be around normal people.

Hermione was reading a book entitled "The Dark Wizards Through The Centuries", an absolutely ghastly book portraying what every single wizard with world-domination ambitions had ever done. She was trying to learn as much as she possibly could about Voldemort.

Harry was reading "Quidditch Through the Ages" and Malfoy was paging through "Quidditch Weekly", a Quidditch magazine (what else?).

All was quiet, when suddenly the front door opened with a blast of warm, humid air, and the loud sound of rain on pavement, but all sensations were quickly shut out by the sound of the door slamming shut. There were heavy footsteps on the entrance hall floor…down the stairs…and a tall red-headed young man walked into the kitchen.

The four inhabitants looked up and nearly froze with shock. And then...

"RON!" Ginny screamed, and was up out of her chair and in her older brother's arms in less than a second. He laughed and picked her up, spinning her around. "Hey Gin, happy birthday!" he kissed her on the cheek before setting her down. Harry was up next, and the two best friends hugged, but it was Hermione who Ron turned to eagerly, completely ignoring Malfoy.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she replied just as quietly.

There was total silence as the two former sweethearts stared at each other, and then Ginny cleared her throat. "We should probably leave you two alone."

"No, it's okay, we can go," Hermione said quickly.

"No, seriously…Harry and I were planning on going to Mum's for dinner anyway…"

"Yes, but Malfoy…We should just go talk in my room."

Ginny stared at Hermione. "Are you…are you sure?"

Hermione smiled sweetly. "Of course. We'll see you guys later." And she stood up, grabbing Ron by the hand, and tugging him out of the kitchen. The rain outside hammered down, and the sky was so dark and cloudy it looked as if it was midnight, instead of six in the evening. Hermione led Ron up to her bedroom, which was dark, even though the curtains were open. They sat down a bit awkwardly onto her bed, neither saying anything…

Ron cleared his throat to break the silence. "So…I heard Ginny and the ferret are going to be going with you and Harry to look for the horcruxes."

Hermione shifted a bit on the bed. "Well yes. I mean, with you…We just…We need help."

Ron reached out to stroke the back of her hand, which was entangled with her other hand in her lap. "I understand Hermione, you don't need to explain."

Hermione smiled a bit, just as the front door downstairs slammed. The house was absolutely silent…And her mind went back to Ginny's expression when she had mentioned her bedroom…

Hermione eyed Ron out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed as they had been walking that he seemed to have grown a bit more, and he had more muscle on him than he had when she had last seen him. His red hair was a bit dirt-streaked and unkempt, but other than that, he looked good.

***Werewolf angst beginning***

Ron took a deep breath. "Look, Hermione…I never…" he swallowed forcefully. "I never wanted this…I never wanted to break up with you…This isn't what I wanted…I mean, I still love you, and I wish I didn't have to leave again…" he looked at her, and in the dim light that filtered in through the window, Hermione could see his blue eyes begging, pleading. "Please…_**I want you**_." His voice was hoarse with lust…"_**Please**_." And he kissed her hard, his lips smashing up against hers with such force that Hermione could feel her mouth beginning to bruise. He bit down on her bottom lip, hard enough to draw blood. He licked it up as it trickled down her chin…Did he like the taste of blood now…? _**Just a perk of being a werewolf, I guess**_, Hermione thought as his lips returned to hers.

He slowly lowered her down onto the bed, kneeling over her, his hands at her button-up shirt, opening it slowly, staring down at her, a smile playing around his lips.__

_**Am I really going to do this**_? she wondered. _**Is it really worth it**_? It wasn't a question she could answer very easily, and she didn't even try. All she knew was that her breathing was labored with desire, but her stomach was twisting into tight knots._** This is right, isn't it? I've loved him for ages, so this should be right**_…

He finished unbuttoning her shirt and moved his mouth down to her collar bone, sucking, and she moaned, fingers entwining themselves into his red hair. He slowly moved down, towards her breasts…

_**If I'm really questioning myself, then it can't be right**_, she reasoned. _**It isn't the right time**_…

"Stop!" she heard her voice cut the air like a razor in skin. "Please Ron…please…I can't do this…"

"Yes you can," he murmured against her skin.

"No Ron…I'm sorry…I'm just not ready…_**Please**_…" For a split second, she didn't think he was going to stop, but then he pressed himself off of her and slid off the bed, moving away.

"_**I'm sorry**_," she heard her voice crack, and her eyes stung with the hint of tears.

Ron stared at her, and then said, "I shouldn't…This _**isn't**_ right…" he ran his fingers through his hair with anguish, and then let out a wolf-like howl. Hermione leapt back against the pillows, heart hammering in her chest, her fingers clenching the blankets so tightly her nails seemed to be cutting through them.

"I…I'm not a virgin, Hermione, not even as a human…It just…In the werewolf colonies…During the full moon, everyone's inhibitions are down…It just happens…AND I FUCKING _**HATE**_ BEING A WEREWOLF!" he roared at the top of his lungs. He grabbed the lamp on Hermione's bedside table and threw it as hard as he could at the wall. "I HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO CONTROL WHO I AM, NOT BEING ABLE TO CONTROL MY TEMPER, NOTHING!" He snatched up an ink jar off of her desk and threw at a different wall. Dark blue ink splattered.

"AND I STILL LOVE YOU BUT I'M IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE TOO!"

Hermione, who had been watching his rant with wide eyes, felt as if someone had literally taken a baseball bat to her heart…She could almost hear the pieces shattering to the ground like broken glass. She stood up, feeling that laying would make her more vulnerable to the two questions she was about to ask.

"A…a werewolf?" she whispered.

Ron nodded.

"And have you…? Have you shagged her?"

Again he nodded.

And Hermione lost it. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY BEDROOM YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she screamed. "HOW DARE YOU _**BEG**_ ME TO SLEEP WITH YOU WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY FUCKING SOMEONE ELSE! _**HOW DARE YOU**_!"

"SHUT UP!" Ron yelled back. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!"

"ALL I KNOW IS THE PRETTY LITTLE LIES YOU'VE BEEN TELLING ME EVER SINCE YOU WALKED THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR!" Hermione screeched at him. "HOW YOU _**LOVE**_ ME, HOW YOU _**WANT**_ ME, GUILTING ME INTO ALMOST HAVING SEX WITH YOU WHEN YOU'VE GOT SOME SKANK BACK HOME IN YOUR BED!" her voice was hysterical and mocking, and her face was contorted into an expression of utter agony.

"SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP!" Ron shouted. "SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BITCH!" His eyes were burning with a fury that she couldn't quite name…But it looked…Animal…And shivers went down her spine…He shoved her back onto the bed, climbing on top of her again. "If anyone's the skank, it's you. You practically _**threw**_ yourself at me!"

"I DID NOT!" she hollered back. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO – "

But she was silenced by the feel of his teeth sliding down her neck. There was a sharp, cutting pain, and something wet trickled down her neck. Something hard was pressed into her leg, and she had a pretty good idea what it was… "Please just get off me," she pleaded, tears now running down her face.

He pulled back, and the look in his eyes was definitely not human. "You don't feel the tension?" he breathed out, one hand hitching up her skirt, his fingers sliding up and down her thigh, one nail slicing through the material at the hem, making a rip an inch or so long and digging through her skin. As she looked up into his eyes, she could have sworn they were yellow, rimmed with red…

"The sexual tension of a good, hard fight?"

"No!"

"The turn-on of a struggle, of a predator catching their prey, and playing with it before going in for the kill?"

"No! Please just get off me!" Hermione struggled under him, and she felt the breath of a sigh against her neck. He loosened his grip on her, and he pushed himself off of her once more, just as the door swung open.

***Werewolf angst ending***

"Forget it," he gasped out. "You're not worth it."

He turned and stalked out, brushing past the person who stood in the shadowed doorway.

Several moments later, the front door opened and slammed shut with an almighty _**BANG**_.

The figure moved into the meager light, and Hermione saw it was Draco Malfoy. His eyes wandered over her body, from her messed up hair, to her bruised and bloodied lip, which, despite Ron's best efforts, was still bleeding, down to her equally bleeding neck, to her shirt, which hung open, exposing her black lace bra, and finally to her ripped skirt and leg that was just as bloody as her lip and neck. His gray eyes took in the broken lamp, shattered shards of the ink bottle, and the ink that stained the wall.

"I guess no one warned you," Malfoy said, "new werewolves have this thing about pain – it's a turn-on for them."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"I was reading through one of the books you had stacked up on the table, one of the ones I guess you hadn't gotten through, and the first chapter was about werewolves. When I heard you two screaming bloody murder at each other, and then didn't hear anything else, I came up here as fast as I could. And from the looks of it, it's a good thing I did."

"I'm fine," Hermione insisted, buttoning her shirt up.

"No, you're not. Come on Granger, let's get you cleaned up." He walked over to the bed and gently clasped her hand in his, pulling her to her feet. She swayed on her feet…

* * *

Draco had never thought he would ever be concerned about Hermione Granger, but seeing her there, bleeding and bruised, with ripped clothes, and a shirt that wasn't buttoned properly, as she hadn't been paying attention to what she was doing, he felt something begin in the pit of his stomach…Could this be…compassion?

He saw her begin to fall, and he caught her in his arms, scooping her up like a groom carrying a bride over the threshold. She seemed to be losing consciousness. Her heard lolled back against his shoulder, exposing her bloodied neck, her eyes half open.

He carried her out of the room, down the hall, and to the bathroom. Balancing Hermione between his arm and knee, he managed to get his wand out of his jeans pocket and lit the chandelier which hung from the ceiling. Slipping his wand back into his pocket he propped Hermione up on the counter. She leaned her head back against one door of the medicine cabinet – there were three – and Draco wet a washcloth down, adding soap which supposedly got rid of dangerous bacteria, and wiped away all the blood. He dabbed a disinfectant onto her wounds, and then, holding her in his arms again, her head once more thrown back against his shoulder, moaning a bit, he brought her downstairs, into the library (in some back part of his brain, he thought she might be most comfortable there), and laid her on the length of the only couch – crimson of course – and hurried down to the kitchen, where he grabbed ice and a cloth. He hasted back to the library, and sat down at the head of the couch. He gently lifted her head into his lap, and placed the ice on her bottom lip, which was already fairly swollen.

He could feel her steady breathing – in, out, in, out – and he absentmindedly stroked her hair. Her eyes were now closed completely, and he had a feeling she had passed out.

She groaned a bit, and he couldn't help but wonder why the hell the Weasel had done this to her. In some rational part of Draco's brain, he knew the Weasel hadn't had much more control over his actions then he would if he had been a full-fledged werewolf, but that fact didn't matter. Why the hell had he come back, if he was so dangerous? Why had he put Hermione in such danger, and had he been trying to _**rape**_ her? It had looked like he had been crawling away from her when Draco had walked into the room, but not without doing some damage.

_**He should be locked up**_, Draco thought angrily. _**He's a danger to everyone, he should never have come here**_.

Hermione let out another moan, this one louder, and her eyes opened. Draco felt his gut clench a bit as her long eyelashes fluttered a bit, and her large brown eyes widened even more when she looked up at him.

"Your lip was swollen," he explained, indicating the ice pack he still held to her mouth. "I got your wounds cleaned up."

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "I – I was so stupid," and to his horror, her eyes filled with tears. He had never been good with crying women, and he had no doubt he would be particularly terrible in this situation. But he would try…

"Because you didn't know how much young teen werewolves love pain? Yeah, you're an idiot all right."

"I'm serious!" she squeaked out. "I knew – " she gasped and gulped a bit and the tears spilled over onto her cheeks and down into her hair, since she was still laying with her head in Draco's lap. "I knew he was dangerous, but I – I didn't even think about it. If I had been thinking straight, I would never have gone up there with him, but I…" Her words broke off and were replaced by fierce sobs.

With a sigh, Draco pulled her up into a sitting position and slipped his arms around her. The ice pack slid to the floor. Her arms encircled him, her hands on the backs of his arms, and her face buried in his chest as she cried her heart out, her small body shaking violently.

Draco had never considered himself to be a particularly caring, loving, or comforting person, but somehow he knew what she needed…Or maybe he had just grown up enough to know what to do…

After what felt like hours, she drew back from him, wiping the tear tracks away from her cheeks as best she could. "I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice thick and broken. "I just…"

He smiled weakly. "I know, it's okay. None of this was your fault."

"But it is!" she insisted.

"Why? Did you tell him to lose his temper? Did you tell him to throw your possessions? Did you force him to bite you, or rip your skirt? No, you did not!"

"But I wanted him…I wanted him to – to " Draco could feel his stomach roiling. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear about her sexual feelings, but her next words were filled with shame. "But I stopped him."

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

"Because…I didn't think it was the right time…I was questioning myself too much." Her voice gained strength as she laid her reasons for refusing Ron out on the table. "Because he had just returned and he practically jumped me the second we got into my bedroom."

"You did the right thing," Draco informed her. "And you know that. Weasel was just…It wasn't him. It was the werewolf in him coming out. He'll wake up tomorrow and probably feel so guilty about it he'll send you a jewelry set to outshine the one Potter got Weasel-ette for her birthday."

Hermione half sobbed, half laughed, and wiped another tear from her face. "He can't afford it."

Draco shook his head. "Well, he's part of the golden trio. He's a freaking Gryffindor. He's going to try to make it up to you somehow, once he comes to his senses."

Hermione nodded, and bent over to pick the ice pack up once more, and reapplied it to her lip.

"Thank you."

He gave her a crooked smile. "No problem."

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think? Did you like it? Love it? Or hate it? If you read the angst part, what'd you think of it? I personally don't think it's anything to worry about, but I'm paranoid. And seriously, I urge you guys to go and check out The Pretty Reckless "Just Tonight", because it's a fantastic rock song :) By the way, what did you think of Draco in this chapter? I hope I got his character down okay, because this chapter shows a much nicer side to him, and I didn't want it to seem like he does a total 180 in the space of a sentence. Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinions or questions for this story :)_**

**_Ta ta!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Here it is - chapter eight! This ended up being quite a bit longer than what I had thought - it was originally just going to be a filler, and in some ways, it is, but there's also some character-pondering in this. Confused? You'll see :)_**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling, and her lawyers seem to agree. I only own the plot._**

**_Now for my thank yous:_**

**_StaticEcho19: Yeah, Ron was definitely nasty in the last chapter. Hopefully I've redeemed him a tiny bit in this chapter :) Thank you! I'm glad you liked the little bit of sweetness between Hermione and Draco :)_**

**_Ethereal Thoughts: Thank you! I try to keep their personalities as close to the original characters as possible. As a matter of fact, I would love a beta! I couldn't seem to get you through messaging though, but if you're still interested...Are you in the beta forum? If so, I'll see if I can get in touch with you there :)_**

**_Whatweareafreaidof: Yeah, I know Ron's behavior was heartbreaking, and if you're a fan of Ron, I'm sorry. I am too, I just happen to like Dramione stories a little bit better. Thank you, I'm glad this story's kept your attention! He might be a tiny bit redeemed in this chapter - just a smidgen :)_**

**_Spikeecat: Thank you! I really enjoyed writing Draco's sweeter side, and I'm glad you liked it! :)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! I'm glad you like the characters! I do my best :)_**

**_Christina: Thank you! I'm going to try to update as often as I can, hopefully a few times a week at least, but preferably more :)_**

**_I LOVE YOU GUYS!_**

**_Also, huge thank yous to the people who put a story alert, or favorited this story!_**

**_I LOVE YOU GUYS TOO!  
_**

**_And now for chapter eight...  
_**

* * *

Chapter Eight – Could the Ferret Really Have Compassion

The moment was interrupted by the slamming of the front door. Hermione and Draco leapt to their feet and hurried to the front hall, wands out, to find Harry and Ginny there.

"What did Hagrid give you for Christmas in our first year?" Hermione asked Harry.

"A flute," he responded.

"And what did you name your Pygmy-Puff?" Hermione demanded of Ginny.

"Arnold."

Hermione and Draco both lowered their wands, and the four teenagers headed down into the kitchen.

"You two are back sooner than what I thought," Hermione called over her shoulder as she strolled to the fireplace and lit it up.

"Yes, well, Ron showed up in a foul temper," Ginny explained as she and Harry sat down at the table. "He was saying a whole bunch of stuff that didn't make sense, kept saying you were a tease?" She eyed Hermione uncertainly.

Hermione groaned and slumped into a chair across from Harry and Ginny, Draco following suit.

Harry leaned towards her. "What happened to your lip and neck?" he asked. "And why is your skirt ripped?"

"It's a long story," she answered darkly. She explained unflinchingly what had happened with Ron.

When she was finished, Harry's fists were clenched, and Ginny was trembling with anger. "_**I'll kill the bastard**_!" she declared ferociously.

"No!" Hermione squealed. "He didn't – it was the werewolf in him – he never would've otherwise!"

"Hermione, you can't baby him, you can't excuse his behavior," Harry insisted, his fingers relaxing a bit. "I mean yes, he would never have gotten so violent if he wasn't a werewolf, but him trying to sleep with you when he's already got another girl in the werewolf community? No, that wasn't the act of a werewolf, that was the act of a human. The biting was werewolf and tearing was the werewolf, and maybe the sexual part too, but the point is he was human when this happened, and he needs to learn to control himself, or else he can't be around us anymore, because he's proven he loses it much too easily."

Draco turned to stare at Harry incredulously. "You actually feel that way about your best friend?"

Harry met Draco's cool gray gaze with his emerald green eyes. "When one best friend hurts the other best friend, something's got to give. It's as simple as that."

"And Ron's acting like a dickhead anyway," Ginny added. "He needs to learn that just because he's a werewolf he can't push people around. If he hadn't heard you coming up to check on you guys, he really might've raped Hermione."

Draco bit down on his lip. He hadn't even gotten the chance to think how close the Weasel might've been coming to forcing himself on Hermione. He glanced over at her. Her face was stark white. It looked as if it had just hit her as well. He quickly turned his head to face Potter again.

"Anything in particular we're going to do about the Weasel-wolf?"

"Warn him to get himself under control, or else we won't have anything to do with him," he answered.

Draco nodded, and then got to his feet, stretching. "I'm going to bed. 'Night you band of freaks and misfits." He saluted them and sauntered off with a strut he did not feel. Truth be told he felt extremely shaky, something that didn't happen very often.

He managed to get up to his bedroom, and closed the door behind him, collapsing on his bed. He groaned, closing his eyes against the dusty darkness that was shot through with the gray light of the broken street lamps outside his bedroom window.

He had heard and witnessed so many evils that the death eaters had committed, and those crimes included the rape of muggle-borns and muggles, leaving them there bruised, bloodied, and broken, to die in pain. But he had never ever even thought of forcing himself on any female, and the very idea made his stomach twist and turn like he had just swallowed a bucketful of live worms, whole.

_**Congratulations Weasel**_, he thought bitterly, _**you've sank down to the level of the fucking death eaters**_. Without really thinking, he rubbed the skull and snake tattoo that just barely peeked out from the short sleeve of his t-shirt.

He had also never thought he would feel sympathetic or anything that resembled compassion for Hermione Granger, but that seemed to be changing. She had just seemed so…vulnerable. So…helpless. So…not Granger. He was so used to seeing her neat and put together that the sight of her bleeding from the lip and neck, with a ripped skirt, unbuttoned shirt, and hair that made her look like she'd just been caught in a hurricane was beyond startling – it was horrifying, almost taboo. He felt as if he should have turned around and closed his eyes when he had entered her bedroom, like he had walked in on her naked. And truth be told, he almost liked her better when her guard was down, even though he felt terrible about what had happened, because no one deserved to have their boyfriend attack them. And…He remembered that she had said that Weasel had a shagging buddy at the werewolf commune-place-thingy. What the hell had he been thinking, trying to get in Hermione's bed when he had a perfectly good girl with animalistic turn-ons back at the community-thing? Couldn't he have waited to get back there to satisfy his…needs? And why had he turned up here anyway? Was it just to try and get under Hermione's skirt? Or was there a more sinister, wolfish reason?

Well, whatever the answer was, he was going to have to wait tomorrow to solve it, because he was exhausted…And when the hell had he begun to think of Granger as _**Hermione**_…? And with that last mildly disturbing thought, he sank into the heady unconsciousness that was sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione sat at the kitchen table, scribbling down notes in a notebook about tracing spells – they needed to be able to avoid them when they finally got back out into the field. Harry was at the stove, flipping pancakes; Ginny was seeing to the coffee – the coffee machine kept making too much coffee – twice in the past week three days they had had to stun it so that they wouldn't drown in liquid coffee beans ; and Draco was sitting a little ways down from Hermione, dictating the facts about trace spells to her.

No one had spoken about the night before.

Despite this, the room was heavy and thick with tension, and everyone seemed to be on edge, as if expecting the death eaters to come swooping in through the fireplace at any second.

Hermione yawned. To say she had slept badly the night before would be like saying a tsunami was a tiny wave, or that just a couple of people gawped at Harry in the street. Nevertheless, she had forced herself out of bed so that she could help her friends – and Draco – prepare for the horcrux hunt.

The only problem was, they had come up blank on where they should look next.

"You know what forced us into action the first time around?" Harry spoke from the stove.

"What?" Ginny wanted to know.

"We accidentally apparated a death eater inside the Fidelius charm. Maybe we should go out, lay siege on the Ministry of Magic, get caught, try to escape, and bring Travers back. That might get us moving."

"Smart ass," Hermione snapped, but with a slight smile.

"You know what we actually should do though," Harry continued on thoughtfully, "is make copies of the horcruxes and put them back where the actual horcruxes would. That way if Vol – I mean the Chief Death Eater decides to check on them, he'll have a harder time discovering that we've already gotten rid of one and have a second one, and he won't decide to make more."

"But his soul is so unstable already, surely he wouldn't try – ?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged, not paying attention the pancakes anymore. "He's so determined to remain immortal that he would do anything, even if that meant risking his soul. And as we all know, he already has – splitting his soul into more than two parts renders it unsteady. So yes Hermione, he would."

Silence fell over them…

"When should we begin?" Ginny piped up over the quiet as she stunned the coffee machine to keep it from going over the coffee limit.

"I'd say our best bet is the cave. I've been there, I already know the security measures."

"But when should we leave?" she repeated.

Harry glanced at the others. "Tomorrow?" he posed. "So that we can get everything together and let the rest of the Order know we're leaving?"

Hermione and Draco both nodded.

"By the way, your pancakes are now pan-flambé," Draco pointed out, and Harry swore, yanking his wand from his jeans pockets and putting the mini fire out with a jet of water.

The rest of the day seemed to go by much too quickly. Harry sent a patronus to the rest of the Order to let them know of their plans, and they got their stuff together, cramming it all into the beaded bag that Hermione had placed an extension charm out the year before right before Bill and Fleur Weasley's wedding.

For lunch and dinner they spread out the leftovers in order to clean out the icebox. They were halfway through the evening meal when Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt walked in through the front door. After the initial safety questions (what animal did my dad turn into? Who did you have with you when we tried to escape from my aunt and uncle's house?) the six Order members walked back into the kitchen, and the four teenagers went back to their dinners.

"Here's the deal," Lupin told them. "We want you guys to apparate to one of the Order's house at least once a week and let us know you're all right, and we'll give you an update on the war."

The others nodded their agreement, their mouths too full of food to say anything.

"Good," Kingsley said. "Anything you need to ask?"

This time they shook their heads.

Kingsley made to head out the door, but Lupin hesitated.

"Hermione, just for the record, I'm going to be training Ron to keep himself under control so that a repeat of what happened last night never happens. He specifically requested it, once he had calmed down. He apparated to Tonks' and my house after he realized what he had done to you. He's truly sorry, and asked me to give you this." He slipped his hand into his cloak pocket and pulled out a sheet of parchment. Hermione recognized Ron's handwriting.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from him.

"That's all," he said. "We'll see you guys sometime next week." And he and Kingsley left.

Hermione pushed the lasagna she had been eating around on her plate. "I think I'm done," she announced.

"I'll eat your food," Harry volunteered, and Hermione pushed her plate towards him.

No one said anything as she left the room, but when she glanced back over her shoulder, she caught sight of Draco watching her leave, his eyes narrowed slightly.

She traipsed up to her room, lit a couple of candles, and laid back on her bed, leaning against her pillows, before unfolding the parchment to read Ron's letter:

_** Hermione, I am so, so, so sorry, I can't believe how much I lost control last night. I never meant to hurt you in any way, please believe that! I'm getting help from Lupin, and I'm going to get my inner werewolf under control, I promise, so that the next time we see each other I'll be safe. I swear it'll never happen again, but if you never ever want to speak to me again, I'll completely understand! But please, PLEASE say you'll eventually forgive me!**_

_**Yours,**_

_** Ron**_

Hermione put down the letter. He hadn't even mentioned his girlfriend, or whatever it was she was. _**He probably wasn't even thinking about that, he was too focused on apologizing for hurting me**_.

Could she forgive him? She imagined she would eventually, but not yet…

She occupied her troubled thoughts with packing and repacking and re-repacking. After she had re-re-re-re-re-repacked the beaded bag, she gave up and headed back downstairs to join Harry, Ginny and Draco – wait – when had she begun to call him _**Draco**_? Sometime last night, she realized.

_**After he**_…_**helped me**_…

She found the others in the drawing room, blowing off some steam with exploding snap. They made room for her and she joined them, none of them saying anything about why she had left the kitchen, or their mission.

Tomorrow they would head out.

* * *

**_So...how was it? I wrote this chapter really quickly this evening, so it might be a little messy. Did I redeem Ron enough (I know it's not a lot, but I wanted to make sure people know that in my story he's not a total monster)? Let me know what you guys think of it, I love hearing your opinions, it always brightens up my day!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been soooo busy with school, plus I'm American, so we had Thanksgiving. We also got an incredible amount of snow for where I live, so I was enjoying that as well. Oh, plus I had writer's block, which didn't help matters. But I've got another longish chapter for you guys!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not owe anything in the Harry Potter world, nor am I making any money off of this plot. Thank you, now please don't arrest me ;)_**

**_Now for my thank yous:_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! I enjoyed writing Ron, he's such an interesting and funny character in the books that it would be hard to do him justice. But I really loved writing him :)_**

**_ArraBlack: Well, thank you very much! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far, and I definitely intend to write more. :)_**

**_Torch-SherlockWho-Wood: Thank you so much, I'm sooo happy you think so! I'm definitely writing more! :)_**

**_And as always, thank you so very much to the people who subscribe, favorite, and author alert this story and me!_**

**_You're all so amazing! Love ya!_**

* * *

Chapter Nine - Who Volunteers To Go Insane?

* * *

No one in the house slept very well that night. There was much tossing and turning, minds working too furiously, anxiously thinking about what they might be up against, to drift off. Hermione for one spent most of the night half asleep, half awake, in a kind of stupor, images of Fenrir Greyback attacking Ron replaying behind her eyes like someone had put it on repeat.

Needless to say, no one was talking very much the next morning as they bustled around, drinking coffee and tea, and chewing on eggs, not really tasting anything. Hermione checked to make sure the beaded bag was inside her jacket so many times that Draco glared over at her and asked blearily if she wanted him to put a sticking charm on her body to make the bag stay. He got a very rude hand gesture in return.

They were just finishing up breakfast when Harry, who had been leaning back into his chair, eyes drifting closed, suddenly sat bolt upright in horror.

"We forgot to make a replication of the locket!"

Hermione groaned. They had gone to so much trouble to prepare for their mission that they had completely forgotten one of the key points. "I'll do it," she said, and pulled out her wand. Clearing her throat, she performed the immensely complicated Transfiguration spell to produce something out of midair. With a flash of blue light, a gold locket, just like the horcrux, only with slightly different markings, appeared on the table.

"It's extremely hard to duplicate something to perfection," Hermione explained to Harry as he held the locket up to his eyes, examining it. "I'd have to have it right in front of me to get it down right."

"I reckon he's been away from it for so long he won't notice the difference," Ginny spoke up.

Harry nodded in agreement and stuffed the locket into his pocket. "She's right, he probably won't be able to tell it's a replicate, it's the same size, shape, color, and has similar markings on it. The only thing missing is the – the – the heart…" His voice faltered off a bit, and Hermione nodded.

The original horcrux had thrummed with the beat of what sounded like the heart of a very tiny, metallic creature.

Ginny and Draco both shivered a bit. "What do you mean?" Draco asked in a whisper, but Ginny had a look on her face as if she had an idea of what they were talking about – she had, after all, owned one of Tom Riddle's horcruxes at one time, and knew that it had taken on a form and life of it's own.

Harry and Hermione explained about the beating heart, and then Harry added on about what had happened when he and Ron had tried to get rid of it. Ron had stabbed it with the sword of Gryffindor, but not before being tormented by the – thing – inside of the locket.

Ginny shook her head. "It sounds like these – horcruxes – are almost as dangerous as the Chief Death Eater himself."

Draco stared at them. "You guys have the sword of Gryffindor?"

Both Harry and Hermione shook their heads. "A goblin stole it from us when we broke into Gringotts," Hermione explained. "He said it was goblin made, and he wanted it back. It's a long and complicated story about goblin beliefs but…Either way, we no longer have it."

There was silence following this statement, and then…

"Well, we've made the replica, so can we get going now?" Draco demanded. The others agreed, and got to their feet, clearing away the breakfast dishes. With a wave of their wands, the kitchen was back to the way it had been an hour ago, and the foursome headed upstairs, through the entrance hall, and out the front door, each glancing back once more, wondering if they would ever see it again…

"Right," Harry said, "we need to hang onto each other, since I'm the only one who's ever been there – I need to steer. Just keep on thinking _**cave on a cliff**_. I know it's vague, but…"

The others nodded, and they grasped hands – Harry clutched Ginny's hand, and Hermione held Harry's and Draco's – and on the count of three, they spun into suffocated blackness.

It was as if her lungs were tightening, being compressed, being shoved down into the deep hollows of her chest…

...And then Hermione found herself breathing in the cool, early morning air, crisp, with a salty taste that cut her tongue.

She looked around, and discovered that they were standing on a rocky cliff overlooking the dark, sea. On one side there was a sheer drop into the ocean – and rocky shore – and on another was a steep descent.

"So where's this cave you were talking about?" Draco demanded. "All I see is the possibility of a bloody death on the rocks down below."

"We can't apparate there," Harry said calmly, and suddenly Hermione realized they had never actually discussed what would happen once they got here. That couldn't be good…

"I think the Chief Death Eater set up protection to ward against wizards and witches who would mean his horcrux harm. There's a cave just around here, but first we need to go down a little bit."

He led them down the face of the cliff, carefully and slowly, until they reached a boulder, the one nearest the ocean. One by one, they leapt into the cold sea, and began swimming, Harry leading the way, towards a crack in the cliff. They soon reached a tunnel, and a little ways ahead, the water began to lower, and lower, until it was non-existent. There was a cave up ahead, and after drying charms, Harry led them to it. They quickly found themselves facing a blank wall.

"Payment," Harry explained. "Dumbledore thought the idea was for the penetrator to weaken themselves."

"What do they have to do?" Hermione asked uneasily, her stomach twisting in knots. She thought she might have a pretty good idea…

"Blood," Harry replied. "We have to cut ourselves."

They all exchanged looks: Who was going to be the one to mutilate themselves?

And then…

"I'll do it," Draco volunteered.

"Don't be an idiot," Harry retorted. "I should do it – "

"Are you crazy? You're the only one who's been here, you need to lead us on. Plus, you're the Chosen One or whatever crap they're spewing these days. If there's some way of tracing the owner of the blood – and I'm sure he's working on it – then he'll know you were here and that his horcruxes aren't safe. Hermione's a muggle-born, he'll be horrified. Weasel-ette – "

"Would be the best!" Ginny spoke up angrily. "If you're right, then he'll be extremely worried, you being a traitor and all. As for me – I'm a pureblood, and while I'm a blood traitor, I'm a seventeen year old girl and he won't be expecting me to get in very far."

"Don't be stupid, I would be the best, he wouldn't be expecting a _**mudblood**_ to get past his precious enchantments," Hermione sneered.

There was a pause. There was definitely some logic in what she was saying. When everyone had been silent for ten seconds, Hermione swished her wand, said the spell, and a sharp knife appeared out of nowhere. She grasped its handle and not even flinching, she sliced it across her palm.

Scarlet blood bubbled to the surface and she bit her lip against the stinging pain. Keeping her left hand elevated with her right, she smeared the blood across the rock, and an arched doorway, outlined in silvery fire, appeared.

"This way," Harry said, and the others followed with Hermione healing her hand and Draco muttering,

"Thank you Captain Obvious."

They found themselves on the edge of what appeared to be a lake, in an unimaginably gigantic cavern.

They walked towards the water's edge, and Harry tapped one fist with his wand, remembering that this was what Dumbledore had done just over a year ago. The effect was instantaneous – a green chain flowed into his hand, and he beat his wand against it. At once, it began to rise and gather, and he yanked it up, hauling something heavy to the surface…until…

A small boat appeared.

"The Chief Death Eater only meant for one wizard or witch to be able to cross in the boat," Harry explained. "But I think he meant one extremely powerful wizard. The four of us _**might**_ make up that weight. Barely." So they clambered into the boat, and it began moving across the water.

Hermione made the mistake of looking down into the water, and what she saw made her stomach wiggle: Dead bodies. She quickly looked away, but caught Ginny's eye, and saw that the other girl was every bit as freaked out and scared as she herself was.

The boat ride was made in silence, each wondering what would happen once they reached the island.

They soon reached a small island in the middle of the lake, and they hoisted themselves out. Standing on a pedestal was a white marble basin, and in that…

"Damn," Harry muttered. "The potion must refill itself."

"What does it do?" Ginny asked, sounding scared.

"It drives the drinker temporarily insane – it makes them go weak, and they relive – they relive their worse memories. At least, I think that's what happens. Dumbledore drank the potion, he said I had to keep on feeding it to him, no matter what." Harry's face was bone white, and Ginny slipped one slim arm around his waist and rested her face against his chest.

"You were only following his instructions," she murmured. "You didn't do anything wrong, you were trying to make the world a safer place."

Draco cleared his throat. "As much as I would hate to break up this sweet little party, we need to figure out which one of us is going to be tormented out of their effing minds. Any volunteers? Seriously, don't all go at once," he added with a grim smile as everyone glanced at each other, just like they had back at the wall.

"It can't be Harry, because we need him," Hermione spoke up. "It shouldn't be Ginny, not after what she went through with Tom Riddle. So that leaves one of us…"

"I'll do it," Draco volunteered. When Hermione opened her mouth to object, he cut her off.

"Seriously, I will. You cut your hand, it's my turn. Now, I'm going to need a cup or something to drink the potion."

Wordlessly, Harry made a small, clear goblet appear out of thin air, and handed it to Draco. With a flash of his trademark smirk, Draco lifted the goblet and plunged it into the deep green liquid. _**The same color as the killing curse**_, Hermione thought with a shudder.

* * *

Draco raised the cup to his lips, took a sip, and nearly choked. It burned like Pepper-Up potion, but worse. It made his throat smolder. Nevertheless he finished the cup and dipped it back in. Each cup, each sip, was worse than the last, making his throat burn worse than before…His vision was beginning to cloud, and instead…

...Images, past memories, danced in front of him, as if they were really there…Another cup…And then another…_**He was in the dining room at Malfoy manor, sitting at a long table, and watching Voldemort kill Charity Burbage, the muggle studies professor at Hogwarts**_…Another cup…_**He was in his sitting room, watching his Aunt Bellatrix torture Hermione Granger…Her screams seemed to ream through him at full force, cutting his insides**_…

...The burning liquid was making its waydown his throat once more…The others must've had to start force-feeding it to him…__

..._**He was in the dining room once more, but this time he was on the floor, feeling the inexpressible agony of the Cruciatus curse tear through him as Voldemort used it on him again and again…He was so angry…Draco had not been able to kill Dumbledore…It didn't matter that Snape had taken care of it…It was Draco's job**_…Oh the _**pain**_!

* * *

Hermione watched as Draco fell to the ground. The cup clattered on the stone floor, and Harry snatched it up, refilling it with the evil green liquid, as Hermione positioned herself behind Draco so that his head was in her lap. With a look of sheer determination mixed with horror at what he was doing, Harry poured the first batch into Draco's mouth…Again…and again…and...

Draco began screaming, yelling, _**crying**_, tears pouring down his face, mingled with cold sweat…He was thrashing around so much that Harry had to toss the cup to Ginny and hold Draco down so he wouldn't hurt himself. Hermione's insides went cold. What could he possibly be _**seeing**_, possibly be _**feeling**_, that would cause him so much agony?

And then…with the last cup, Draco fell silent and still. Harry looked at the two girls.

"He'll need water, and we'll need to get it from the lake. There's inferi in the lake, and we're going to need to use fire to get them back under the water."

The other two nodded. "One – two – enervate!" Draco's eyes flew open. Ginny dove for the lake and filled the cup with water, dumping it into his mouth, just as a ghostly green, yet very solid, hand appeared. Harry nodded at the other two, and they performed the spell to create a fire, throwing it at the bodies now creeping out towards them. They dove back in, and there was silence.

"I say we go back," Harry suggested, and the other two nodded, just as Draco slumped back down again, unconscious.

* * *

**_So how'd everyone like this chapter? This one was particularly difficult to write, because I was trying to get all the details of the cliff, cave, sea, tunnel, and lake down right. I literally had "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" open in my lap while I was typing this out._ _I hope I got everything worked out okay though :) Once again, I'm sorry you guys had to wait a week for this chapter, I'm going to try to update a bit more often. Hopefully now that I've got them out of Grimmauld Place the story might flow a bit quicker :) Anyway, I would love to hear what you guys think about this chapter!_**

**_To those readers in the United States, Happy Belated Thanksgiving!_**

**_Love you all!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)  
_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_And here we have it ladies and gentlemen - Chapter Ten!_**

**_Disclaimer: If I was J.K Rowling, wouldn't I look a bit like her? Besides, wouldn't I be a qualified genius, instead of a self-proclaimed one? And wouldn't I be able to get away with making those smart ass remarks? So nope, I'm definitely not her. Dang, guess I better go let the castle builders know I won't be able to pay them...I should probably cancel the moat as well..._**

**_Sorry it took so long, I've been busy with school (again). Finals are coming up, and I'm more swamped than the locnesse monster ("Hey Nessy! How're the Scottish swamps these days?"). Anyway, this chapter's a bit long, and there isn't any action in this, but there is some sweetness between Hermione and Draco, which I know you guys will hate - I mean, who clicks on romance to actually read it? I'm sure you guys would prefer I kept Dramione out of this Dramione story ;)_**

**_And now for my thank yous:_**

**_Loslote: Why thank you very much! When I started on the chapter, I hadn't figured out who would end up being the payment to the wall, and who would take the insane potion, so I'm glad you liked it! :)_**

**_Spikeecat: Thank you! I hope I didn't make you wait too long! :)_**

**_Lou The Accid Jazz Singer: Thank you so, so much! Haha, Dramione's just plain awesome. I'm trying to let their relationship develop at a natural pace so that they don't go from one chapter with Draco and Hermione screaming bloody murder at each other, to the next with Draco getting down onto one knee and presenting a diamond ring to her. That would just be plain confusing. And thank you, that is the best compliment to any Harry Potter fanfic author! :)_**

**_That Little Bookworm: Merci beu coup! (Incase you don't speak French, and have no intention of learning it, that means thank you very much. I needed a new way to thank the fantastic reviewers who read this story.) I definitely intend to, I love writing this story! :)_**

**_And once again, a gigantic thanks to the people who favorited and story alerted this story, that means so much to me!_**

**_Hugs everyone!_**

**_Okay, I'm done, you can read the chapter now ;)_**

* * *

Chapter Ten – If I'm a Malfoy, Then Why Am I Blushing?

_**Pain…Agony…High-pitched laughter...The scream of "Crucio!"...He had no sense of time or **__**direction…All he knew was the blinding agony…It seemed to make up his very existence…He was **__**thrashing…He could feel screams and yells ripping through his throat, but he couldn't hear anything…**_

_**Nothing made sense…Nothing**_…

_**…And then the burning pain was gone, and he was laying on something incredibly soft, **__**and he was warm and cozy…He must have died and gone to heaven, because only clouds could be this **__**soft…And he imagined they would be very warm and comfy as well. The scent of bacon and eggs and **__**toasted bread overwhelmed his sinuses…So this is what heaven smelled like, he had always **__**wondered…He smiled comfortably…He had a feeling he was going to like it here…**_

_**And then there was an all-too familiar voice murmuring in his ear, tickling his lobes, her **__**cool breath rushing into his ear. He frowned. That wasn't comfortable at all…**_

"Draco…Come on Draco, you need to get up."

_**It sounded quite a bit like Hermione Granger. Had she died too? Did he really have to **__**share his space with her, even up here in the clouds? Actually, come to think of it, that didn't sound so **__**bad. Maybe he could hold her again…He liked that…He had felt safe…**_

…And with that horrible thought, he sat bolt upright in bed, and at once was attacked with a completely different pain than the one he had been feeling…Stinging and aches, like he toppled off of the cliff back there...His right arm was wrapped tightly in something…

…And the memory came back to him, and he became aware of his surroundings. He was laying on an unfamiliar bunk bed, on the bottom bunk. It was curtained off, perhaps for privacy, although it looked like that had been already been invaded by none other than Hermione Granger.

With a groan, he let his body fall back against the cushy mattress and thick, squashy pillows, tugging the blankets up to his chin.

"What're you doing here?" he mumbled out, his eyes on the dark haired girl sitting in a straight back wickerwork chair beside his bed. And – surprise, surprise – she was reading a book.

She closed the book softly and smiled gently at him. "Making sure you're all right."

"I thought I – I thought I h-heard s-s-something…" he didn't dare say that it was her voice bringing him back down to earth, not with his last thought before he had returned to consciousness.

"Yes, that was me," she said, all business now. "This said attendants should talk to unconscious attendees to help to waken them. She held out the book to show Draco, who grabbed it to examine it:

_**Gilderoy Lockhart's One million and Fifty Spells, Potions, and Healing Tricks to Cure Anything**_. It had a scarlet red cover with loopy silver words and underneath that title was the slogan: _**Learn To Cure Even **__**the Worse Cases of Dragonpox, Bring Down Boils in the Most Hard to Reach Places, and Improve Your **__**Looks One-Hundred-and Ten Percent**_! Beneath that was the name in silver lettering, line with scarlet, no doubt to make it stand out anymore: _**Gilderoy Lockhart**_. And of course, at the back…_**Bestselling **__**author of Break with a Banshee, Gadding with Ghouls, Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, **__**Holidays with Hags**_…The list went on for quite some time, all the way down to the very bottom.

Lovely.

"Granger, as much as I hate to disappoint you, I do not need to improve my looks." He smirked as he gave the book back to her. "Anyway, I thought _**Year with the Yeti**_ was Lockhart's last published book? He lost his memory, remember?"

Hermione grinned a bit as the curtain was pulled back and Harry walked into the small space.

"He did lose his memory, but that doesn't mean he can't be St. Mungos' resident bestselling author and balloon head. He wrote it and got it published last year, from the very comfort of his closed ward. Look on the inside cover, it'll explain."

Hermione flipped the book open to the back, and sure enough, there was an about the author section, with a glossy colored picture of none other than Gilderoy Lockhart himself, looking as if he was posing for a headshot. His blond hair was curled, his eyes were a twinkling sky blue, and his smile, if at all possible, appeared to be even wider than before. Plus, true to Harry's comment, his head did seem a bit too large for his neck and shoulders.

"Maybe he ran into an inflating spell," Ginny called, also stepping around the cloth barrier. "Harry, the bacon needs you, it's bored without you flipping it."

"Right, tell it to be patient, I'm coming," Harry replied with a teasing smile, and followed his girlfriend back out into the main part. Before the curtain was closed once more, Draco caught sight of a roomy living room with crimson plush armchairs, a kitchenette that was separated from the living room with a long counter running the length of it, and on the other side of the kitchenette was another red drawn curtain, where he supposed Hermione and Ginny would be sleeping. Harry no doubt would be sleeping in this section, on the bunk above his.

He groaned inwardly. First he fantasized about holding Hermione, and now he was calling Scarhead and Weasel-ette by their given names. Fantastic. He must have hit his head pretty hard on the stone floor when he had fallen to be thinking like this. That was the only plausible explanation.

_**You're a Malfoy. You are a Malfoy. You are Draco Malfoy, Slytherin heartthrob, and you **__**do not like Hermione Granger. You are not attracted to Hermione Granger. And you hate Harry **__**Potter and Ginny Weasley. Remember? REMEMBER?**_

_**Shut up, another voice in his head interrupted. Quit yelling. He can be friends with **__**whoever he wants to.**_

_**No, you shut up!**_

_**You!**_

_**No you**_!

Awesome. Now he was arguing with his brain. This day just kept on getting better and better.

Casting around for a topic that did not include his apparent impending insanity, he said the first thing that came to mind: "So we got out of there all right?" he inwardly winced as the voice in his head that had berated him said in a mocking tone:

_**Oh, nice going. Don't we sound smart? One more **__**brilliant comment like that and she'll think you're of the same bloodline as Goyle. Remind me to never **__**invite you to peace talks, okay? We don't need the wizarding world in any more danger than it **__**already is**_.

The ironic part of it was that, quite unfortunately, he was in fact of the same bloodline as Gregory Goyle, one of his best...helpers…in tormenting other kids. All purebloods were interrelated, because otherwise they would have died out. Naturally, the comparison between him and the moronic Goyle did not make him feel any better; if anything, he felt even worse than before. And he couldn't understand why all of a sudden he felt awkward and unsure. He supposed it had to do with bumping his head…

_**God, I **__**really hope I have a concussion**_, he thought. Following that: _**And I am probably the only person in this **__**entire freaking universe to ever wish for that**_.

Despite his idiotic remark – mainly due to the _**duh-obvious**_ factor – and the feeling that when he was being insulted by his brain his eyes had glazed over and a scowl had contorted his face, Hermione only smiled and nodded.

"Of course. We had to carry you out obviously, we levitated you. You were out cold."

Draco nodded, and shifted a bit. He remembered his arm. "What happened to my arm?" he asked Hermione.

"Well, you were thrashing around, and you cut your arm pretty badly on the stone. We didn't even notice because of your shirt sleeves, not until we levitated you and noticed your shirt was soaked in blood."

And it was then that Draco realized he was naked.

Or half naked anyway. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Again. How was it that whenever he got hurt, part of the remedy included him being bare-chested? Not that he minded, he worked hard for the body he had, but he was beginning to get a little exasperated with waking up and discovering that someone else had undressed him. It was not a pleasant experience. He could only hope it had been Harry and not one of the girls – he had already gone through enough awkward moments in the past five minutes to make up for his total coolness throughout his previous teenage years.

Ahhh, karma.

He wiggled his lower body, and discovered he had a lot more room than his jeans had permitted. He pushed the covers back, and discovered he was in a pair of navy blue sweats and white and gray socks that Nymphadora Tonks and Molly Weasley had bought and Kingsley and Lupin had delivered. They had completely resupplied his wardrobe with jeans, t-shirts, flannel shirts, sweatshirts, windbreakers, heavy coats, sweats, sneakers, boots, scarves, gloves, hats, etc. Anything he might have needed, he had it. He had to admit that they had excellent taste in fashion and what his sizes were, not that he would ever tell them that.

Feeling a cold draft, something that often happens when you shove blankets off your half naked body, he yanked the covers – one sheet, two blankets, and a heavy comforter –back straight up to his chin.

"Would you like a shirt?" Hermione asked pointedly, a smirk once more dotting her face.

She summoned her beaded bag, and managed to extract Draco's duffel bag from within. She ruffled around inside it, and Draco felt his face growing hot…His _**underwear**_ was in there…But before he could do more than turn a light shade of pink, she had tossed him a t-shirt and sweatshirt, and he pulled both on as she shoved the duffel bag back down into the smaller one. She drew the strings, closing the bag, and banished it back out to the living room.

"Dinner is served!" came Harry's voice from behind the curtain, and Hermione got to her feet. Heavily and stiffly, Draco crawled from the bed and together he and Hermione walked out into the living room.

There were stools lining the outer side of the counter, four for each of them. At each place was a plate, with a folded napkin, and a fork and knife. At the far end of the counter was a vase of blooming pink roses, and at the other was a radio. Somehow, the flowers and device gave the impression of hominess.

Perhaps it was just because the flowers added some beauty to the room, and every wizarding family had a radio, but seeing the two additions made Draco feel all the more comfortable and welcome, as if maybe he really was wanted on this adventure, like maybe he belonged…

Before he could shake this thought – another disturbing one by the Malfoy standards – out of his head, he and Hermione had slid onto the two stools closest to the vase, and Harry and Ginny were sliding scrambled eggs and dishing crispy bacon onto their plates.

"Tea?" Ginny offered, nodding to the tea kettle, which sat steaming a bit on the stove.

"Sure," Draco agreed and Hermione nodded. Harry pulled four mugs down from one of the highest pantry shelves, which hung over the stove and back counter, and Ginny poured the tea into each of them, careful not to spill a drop.

"What do you take in your tea Draco?" she asked.

Draco had always insisted on fixing his own tea or coffee, because, as he had so graciously put it, "I don't need help from a band of misfits and freaks". Charming, isn't he?

But today, his entire body ached as if he had been trampled by a pack of hippogriffs, followed by a herd of centaurs. Plus, they hadn't just left him there on the island, and Hermione had attempted to mend his arm, which in his book counted for something – if he had visited the island and basin with the death eaters, they probably would have each stomped a couple of times on his face before abandoning him without any transportation back to civilization. Lovely people, I'm sure.

So he fixed a smile on his face and said, "One spoonful of sugar and fill it the rest of the way with milk. Please," he added as an afterthought, as he realized she had called him Draco. Perhaps she was relieved and thankful that he hadn't killed them yet…

"Here you go," Harry said, snapping Draco out of his thoughts. He had taken the mug from Ginny and had placed it in front of him. Draco took a sip.

"How is it?" Ginny called over to him.

He flashed her his trademark smirk. "Perfectly bitter with the slightest touch of sweetness, just like me!"

Ginny snorted, and Harry choked a laugh out into his fist.

"You? Sweet? What did you put in that tea Ginny? Are you sure that sugar wasn't pot or something?" Harry snickered, and Ginny grinned too, but Hermione was keeping unusually silent. Normally she would have chimed in with her own joke or smart ass remark, but this time she just stared down into her tea – milk, four spoonfuls of sugar, and one half spoonful of honey –, brown eyes unreadable.

Suddenly, Draco realized why she hadn't said anything, or laughed at his comment. It was because she _**knew**_ from firsthand experience that he could be nice, could be a good person. He had rushed up to her bedroom to warn her of the impending danger, and had taken care of her after the Weasel-wolf's attack. He wondered if she was reliving that…

Clearing his throat loudly, he hastily scooped a large forkful of eggs into his mouth.

"Excellent food," he said to Harry and Ginny. "Considering who made it," he added with another smirk, causing Harry to flip him off and Ginny to stick her tongue out at him. Hermione elbowed him hard, and when he glanced at her, saw that she was grinning once more. A tightening in his stomach that he hadn't even known he had loosened, and he settled back to finish his dinner.

Once everyone was done eating, Hermione cleared her throat. "I'll take first watch since you two cooked dinner," she said to Harry and Ginny.

They both nodded, looking exhausted, although Draco couldn't help wondering just what would be going on between them once Hermione left the tent. Deciding to be nice and give them some alone time, he added, "I'll stand guard with you." He couldn't help but leer pointedly at Harry and Ginny, who were sitting on Hermione's other side. Harry blushed, but Ginny glared at him and gave him the two finger salute, mouthing "Fuck off".

Five minutes later, Harry and Ginny were cleaning up the kitchen, and Draco and Hermione sat right outside the tent.

"There's about fifty different protective spells around this area," Hermione informed Draco. "No one can see the tent, nor can they hear us. We're nearly as safe as we would have at headquarters."

Draco nodded, glad she had answered the question he had been wondering about in his head.

Several minutes of silence passed, before Draco realized another question was weighing on his mind. Before he could think twice, he voiced it: "I understand why you're calling me by my first name – I helped you after the Weasel-wolf…" he trailed off as Hermione's face tightened. "But," he continued on, "why are Harry and Ginny?"

"The same reason you're calling them by their first names," she answered, her face relaxing into a smile. "You guys respect and trust each other. You drank that insane potion to help keep us alive, and…I suppose because you haven't abandoned us yet or something to that effect. They may not like you and you may not like them, but I think you guys can work together now. It's the same with us. While I'm sure we'll never be the best of friends, we're no longer enemies." She paused, and her features softened all the more. "Does that make sense?" her voice was gentle and quiet, but Draco could hear her question just fine.

Inside the tent, Harry and Ginny were laughing about something or other, and there was the clank of dishes and the whishing sound of running water.

"Yeah, it does," he finally said. "It makes perfect sense."

In the dim light from the tent, Hermione's face seemed to glow with her smile. "Good," she replied. "I'm glad."

And for the first time, in over two years, sitting out there in the warm late August air in the dark with the comforting sounds of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's laughter, and Hermione Granger sitting on the ground beside him, so was he.

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think of the tiny bit of Dramione I put in this? It's all from Draco's POV (obviously), and I hope I got it down okay. Do you think Draco's in denial? And what'd you think of Gilderoy Lockhart's off-screen cameo? I love his character, he's so annoying and full of himself it's hilarious, and I just had to put him in here somewhere. Anyway, let me know what you guys think, I absolutely love hearing from you guys, it brightens up my day!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_Wow, my longest chapter so far! This chapter is actually more or less two parts, because otherwise it'd be as long as the actual Harry Potter books themselves._**

**_Disclaimer: If I was J.K Rowling, I'd be able to afford a red Mustang or a Ferrari, or maybe a chauffer to drive me places. But I'm not her, so I can't afford to pay the chauffer. Hmmm...I wonder if they'd work for free...?_**

**_Loslote: I'm glad! Lockhart's hilarious and is extremely egotistical (!) and it just made sense to have him write a book from the mental ward at St. Mungo's. Thank you so much! I love doing the Hermione/Draco interactions, they're my favorite part, and I'm really glad people enjoy reading them! :)_**

**_Lou The Acid Jazz Singer: Thank you very much! Draco's confusion was a lot of fun to write about, even though I hadn't planned on putting it in quite yet :)_**

**_mydirt09: Thank you! It sounded like something a cynical Slytherin might say, especially because they probably wouldn't believe the sweet part themselves :)_**

**_darkcrystalwings: Lucky! I haven't seen that movie yet, although the trailer for it looks epic. And thank you so much, I'm happy you're enjoying the story! :)_**

**_sappheiros: Haha, I think a lot of people wanted to go with Ginny to kill Ron! Oh, she definitely can, she's really tough, the books prove that much ;) I'm glad you liked the Dramione interactions! Thanks, I had actually had the first three chapters plus the prologue written when I posted the prolouge. I've slowed down a bit, but I'm hoping to pick the speed up! Anyway, thank you! :)_**

**_And thank you so much for everyone to favorited or story alerted this story!_**

**_Also, thank you to everyone who's reading this story! Every single one of you is amazing!_**

**_Okay, before I finish this, I just want to say that I finished one of my classes today, so hopefully I'll be updating on a more regular basis :)_**

**_Okay, I'm done. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter! :)_**

* * *

Chapter Eleven – Us? Breaking and Entering? You Don't Say!

The next morning dawned bright and early in their little wooded campsite. Hermione lay on her back, staring up at Ginny's bunk above her own, enjoying the sight of the yellowy light filtering in through the pale red canvas walls of the tent, turning to orange. It was extremely peaceful to just lie there, thinking about anything and everything that ran through her mind, without the usual noise and bustle and annoyance that came with living with Ginny, Harry, and Draco. In that order.

She listened to the gentle inhaling and exhaling of her bunkmate, and tried to pick up any sounds or clues that her male tent mates were still asleep. There was the soft creak and rustle of a mattress and bedsprings as one of the boys rolled over and adjusted his body as he slept, but apart from that, she didn't hear anything on their side of the tent.

She rolled over onto her stomach, turning her head to the side away from the outer wall, and closed her eyes, trying to get a bit more sleep, but just as she was drifting back off, images of the summer before the beginning of her third year, laying on a beach in France, floating sweetly through her mind, the quiet whir of the boys' curtain being pulled back jerked her out of her daydream. Keeping her eyes closed, she listened as one of the boys tiptoed across the tent – from the sounds of it, Harry was the early riser – and raised the flap of the tent, before zipping it back up.

Well, _**that**_ got her attention. What on earth was Harry doing awake so early when he didn't have to be? It couldn't have been much later than six-thirty, if her estimations of the sun's position were correct.

As gingerly as she could – she was beginning to feel the previous day's adventure in her limbs –, she pushed the covers off of her pajama-clad body – midnight and pale blue striped cotton pajama bottoms and a sky blue t-shirt –, pulled on the navy blue hoodie that was at the foot of her bed, slid her feet into her sneakers, and crept out from behind the curtain, out into the living area, and then straight outside.

Harry was sitting on the ground, legs spread out in front of him, in crimson pajama bottoms decorated with shimmering golden snitches, and a crimson sweat jacket, staring off into the tree-immersed distance. He was holding his wand loosely in his hand, and was tapping one of his fingers against the wooden length, deep in thought.

She settled in next to him. The movement, sudden warmth of another human body, and soft crunch of the grass, seemed to yank him from his stupor, because he blinked, halted his finger, and turned to look at her with a bright smile.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" he said, not sounding at all as if he was up earlier than what should be humanly possible.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, beaming back at him, "it's gorgeous out here."

Harry resumed his drumming on his wand, and Hermione leaned back on her arms, turning her face up to the weak sun, letting it warm her skin. A comfortable silence enveloped them, allowing them to _**just be**_, while the other thought about their own thing.

After several moments of this, Harry wrapped all of his fingers around the wand and turned to face Hermione again.

"I think we should head out to the Gaunt house, in Little Hangleton, in a few days. The sooner we replace the ring, the better, and then we can continue on trying to find the horcruxes."

Hermione nodded. The one horcrux they did have was stuffed securely down at the bottom of her bag, because more often than not it would be near her. Of course, right now it was in the tent, but with Ginny and Draco in there, and she and Harry sitting at the only entrance to the tent, she wasn't too worried that someone might try to steal it. Even if someone was in fact wearing an invisibility cloak, they would have one heck of a time trying to find the tent with all of the disillusionment and protection spells Hermione and Harry had cast on it. Plus, they had a secrecy sensor spell around their campsite, so if anyone did try to approach the tent under an invisibility cloak or with polyjuice potion, their disguises would immediately be revealed.

"I agree," she spoke, "and I think we should always try to get our hands on something else to kill the horcrux, so that we're not sitting around with evil objects on all sides."

"And here I thought that was everyone's dream," Harry ribbed her. "To have evil seeping in through every crack in the tent. Don't you want to be freaked out of your mind twenty-four-seven?"

"Sorry, I've already gone through that with you and Ron. You two are – were – scary."

It was a moment before she realized she had said Ron's name, but didn't draw attention to it; instead she just laughed when Harry elbowed her in the side, and she jabbed back at him.

They went back inside soon, to find Draco and Ginny just waking up. Harry and Hermione popped toast into the toaster, and fried up the leftover bacon from the night before, while Ginny and (with a hard foot stomp from her) Draco pulled out the butter, jam, forks, knives, and plates. When they had all sat down at their respective places, Harry cleared his throat.

"Hermione and I were talking and we think it would be a good idea if we replaced the ring in a couple of days."

Draco and Ginny glanced at each other, Draco with a crispy piece of bacon halfway to his mouth, Ginny in the midst of spreading jam over her bread. After a moment of silence, Ginny nodded and turned back to Harry and Hermione.

"Sounds good. It makes sense, it'll be safer than the island in any case – I'm assuming," she added, the undertone of her voice threatening.

Harry raised his hands as if to protect himself from her blazing eyes. "I think so – "

When she glared all the more forcefully, he yelped out, "I don't know! Dumbledore got the ring before he let me in on his secret, I think his hand got hurt in the process, I don't know how!"

"The horcrux probably attacked him in some way or other," Hermione said thoughtfully, laying her half-eaten piece of toast down on her plate. "Maybe he put it on, that might do it."

Harry shrugged, and with a quick glance at Ginny to make sure she wasn't going to bat-bogey him into oblivion for forcing her into danger without warning her, or withholding information, he went back to his food.

"While we're in Little Hangleton, we should probably stock up on supplies as best we can," Hermione added, bringing the toast back up to her lips. "Who knows when we'll be able to risk going into a town next, the Chief Death Eater might be taking over muggle towns next."

Draco choked on his bacon. "Whaddaya mean we're gonna be in a muggle town?" he slurred out over the bacon that hadn't quite gone down the right way. "I'll stay here thanks, I'm not associating with any more muggles than what I have to."

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all exchanged exasperated glances and eye rolls.

"Hate to break it you darling, but you're not going to have a choice if you want to stay alive," Hermione informed him.

"I think I just became suicidal," Draco spat back.

Hermione fixed her brown-eyed gaze on him. "Don't say it unless you mean it sweetie, otherwise you might disappoint us."

"Why, bless my Slytherin heart – did Hermione Granger just say something _**cynical**_ and _**mean**_?"

"Why, bless your Slytherin brain – aren't you smart?"

"And _**sarcastic**_? Now I've seen everything there is to see."

"Oh, don't get your hopes up, we're just getting started – unless you plan on carrying out that suicide threat, of course. If that is the case – here you go." She reached across Harry to hand Draco her knife, but Harry intercepted the cutlery.

"This is nothing to joke about you two!" he nearly yelled at them. "Draco – stop making stupid threats. Hermione – stop encouraging him to actually carry out those stupid threats."

"Yeah Hermione, stop being a trouble maker," Draco whined mockingly.

"Oops, sorry, I forgot that was your area of expertise," Hermione quipped back.

"Damn straight, and don't you forget it," he growled.

"Yeah, like it's something to be proud of," Hermione retorted with another eye roll. "And being an arrogant jack – "

"STOP BICKERING!" Harry roared, palms flat on the counter. "My God, am I going to have to lock you two in a room together?"

"And which room would that be?" Draco asked sarcastically. "The curtained off bedrooms, or the open living room slash kitchen slash dining room?"

"The bathroom, if you two aren't careful," Harry told him.

That shut them up. The tent did in fact have a bathroom, the only room with an actual door. The only problem was that it was extremely small, maybe seven feet by four feet at best, if you included a couple of feet for the shower, and two people in there would be extremely cramped.

Harry smirked triumphantly as he watched the two bickerers go back to their food, silent, with sullen looks on their faces.

And so the plans began. They made a duplicate of the ring – Harry did it this time since Hermione had never seen the ring before, and drew a rough map of the area, which Harry had only seen from other people's memories. From the meager information he was able to provide them with, they were able to assume that it would be fairly safe, with little or no death eaters hanging around.

"I mean, I doubt he'd be proud of how far down the Slytherin line sunk," Harry said the night before they left for Little Hangleton. "That place was a dump, he would have been humiliated by it, I'm sure he's been telling them that his family lived in a castle or some shit like that. Plus, he wouldn't want them to know how close to a muggle town they lived, or that his father – his dear muggle father who didn't want him – lived in a humongous manor. He'd want them to stay as far away from that town as possible; it would be much too easy for them to ahold of that information."

"From the sounds of it the only danger we really need to worry about is the collapse of the cottage," Ginny said. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against Harry's legs, like they had done so many times back at Hogwarts during the few weeks they'd been together. Her legs were crossed, and she was flicking through Hermione's copy of _**Hogwarts: A History**_ with her tongue poking out a bit, barely taking in a word of it.

Harry snorted. "It's probably already collapsed, probably in ruins."

"Do you think they've cleared it away then?" Hermione asked anxiously, looking over at them from where she was sitting in her own armchair a few feet away from Harry. She was curled up and paging through one of her old Arithmancy textbooks; her favorite subject always calmed her nerves.

Harry shook his head. "I doubt it. Trust me, from what I saw, the muggles didn't want to get anywhere near to that place. Not that I blame them," he added. "The son – Morfin – had a snake nailed to the front door."

The other three shuddered, even Draco.

"That is seriously creepy," Ginny said. "And not something I want to see. I hope the place really has deteriorated to the point of ruin."

The next morning the four teenagers apparated to right in front of the cottage with the hopes that no one happened to be passing by it at that moment. They were in luck – there was no one around for miles.

Ginny's wish had come true – the place was now only piles of wood and stone and dust. Harry tossed the ring into the debris, and then they all backed away, with guilty expressions on their faces as if they had just done something wrong and had been caught in the act. To add to the uncomfortable feeling, there was a very distinct feeling of anticlimax – they had finished their mission in less than two minutes, and now weren't sure what to do now.

Hermione peered around, hand shading her eyes from the rising sun. "I think the town's that way," she said, pointing in the distance.

But Harry's eyes were focused on a distant hill, where a beautiful mansion rose out of the peak.

"Harry?" Ginny tugged on his sleeve. "Hermione wants to head into town."

"You guys go," he said. "I want to check out the Riddle mansion, see what it's like, and maybe look at the graveyard."

"_**Why**_?" Hermione asked, a bit revolted. "That's where he killed that old muggle man, and that's where he – he..." she broke off, a slight realization coming over her.

"I dunno, I just…I mean, it's a part of his past…maybe he hid a horcrux somewhere in the house while he was staying there? And I'd like to see the place where he came back to full life. I think maybe I need it."

Hermione glanced at Ginny, but the younger girl was gazing at her boyfriend. "You and Draco go on Hermione, I'll go with Harry up to the mansion."

"Are you – are you sure?"

"Of course. Go on, we'll catch up with you."

Hermione nodded, then turned to Draco. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Harry and Ginny watched as Hermione grabbed Draco by the arm and dragged him away, towards the small town that could just be seen in the distance.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Harry said as he turned back to face Ginny. "I mean, it might not be the most pleasant experience."

Ginny shrugged. "This is a part of your past, and you should have someone with you. It's as simple as that." She stood on her tip-toes to kiss him, before slipping her fingers through his and tugging him along. "Which one to first?"

Harry swallowed. "The graveyard, I think, just to get it over with."

"All right, let's go."

Gripping the other's hand as hard as they could without breaking any fingers, they turned on the spot and were pulled into the suffocating blackness, before emerging into a cemetery.

The graveyard was at the bottom of the hill, in the shadow of the sprawling mansion, and Harry gazed up at the house, eyes transfixed, before coming to. He slid out of Ginny's hold and began walking around, examining the place. "This is where Cedric and I landed, when we took the portkey here," he muttered, stopping at a spot. He prodded the ground with the toe of his sneaker, as if expecting the ground to pull apart, creating a crevice.

Nothing happened.

"Is that where Cedric – ?" Ginny gulped back at her words, not quite able to voice what she was wondering, but Harry seemed to know what she was asking anyway. He nodded.

"Yeah…That's where it happened." He moved away, a few yards over to a tombstone.

"And this," he fingered the stone, "is where I was tied up."

Ginny followed him, and could just make out the name _**Tom Riddle**_ engraved on the stone.

"His father," she whispered.

"And his body is now missing one of the bones," Harry laughed hollowly. "It went into the potion-thing, to bring him back."

"And Wormtail had to cut off his own hand," Ginny murmured, "and – "

"And he took my blood." Harry's voice was now cold, devoid of any emotion, and Ginny shivered. "So he could touch me and not die himself – as if he could."

He crossed his arms tightly across his chest, as if protecting himself from the flood of horrible memories that were no doubt rushing back into his brain with the force of a tidal wave.

Ginny hesitated, not sure if she should go over there or just stay where she was. The urge to comfort him and help him relieve himself of the pain was too strong, however, and she softly walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"He'll never hurt you again," she whispered against his chest. "I won't let him." She spoke with such fierce, unwavering determination that Harry let his arms fall away from his chest, before slipping them around Ginny.

"Thanks," he murmured against her hair, burying his nose in her long tendrils. "And I would die before I let anything happen to you."

"Let's make sure nothing does happen then," she replied, and reached up once more to press her lips to his.

Harry had to admit it was bit ironic and satisfying to be kissing his girlfriend, the girl he had loved for over a year, on the spot where Voldemort had tortured and threatened to kill him – it was a bit like rubbing it in the dark wizard's face, as if he was saying, "Hah hah, I can love and you can't! Na na na na na na!"

Ginny pulled back away from him, and he stepped away from her. "Should we head up to the mansion?"

"Sure," she agreed. This time they hiked up the hill, to make sure that no muggles – such as a gardener or maid or whoever the current owner had hired to keep the place up – saw two teenagers appear out of thin air as if by – gasp! – magic.

It was a bit of a long trek, taking them close to twenty minutes, and by the time they they reached the back yard, they were both gasping for breath and clutching at stitches in their sides.

They crept across the yard, Harry leading Ginny to the backdoor. A movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn around, but when he looked, there was no one there except the house, the yard, and the cottage where the old gardener – Frank Bryce, the man who had been killed in that very house by Lord Voldemort – had lived.

Figuring it was just a tree or a bush blowing in the light wind, Harry tapped the door handle with his wand and said, "_**Alohomora**_."

With a soft click, the door swung forward slightly, and Harry pushed it open even farther, standing back to allow Ginny in first.

Once they were both inside the house, Harry closed the door behind him and locked it once more. The house was every bit as musty as it had been when Harry had dreamed of Frank Bryce's murder, if not more so. The carpet was nearly invisible under the thick layer of dust that had accumulated over the years, and in the early morning light that filtered in through the dirty windows, they could see the dust particles floating around in the air.

Ginny waved her wand and two handkerchiefs appeared. She handed the emerald green one to Harry and kept the blue one. When he raised his eyes at her she shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"You do realize we could have just done the bubble-head charm, don't you?" he asked her, as they began walking again, Ginny a couple of steps ahead of him this time around. She turned around to look at him.

"Yes, but this way we don't have to look like a fish bowl tried to attack us," she replied. "And this works just as well."

"You just like the idea of me wearing a green handkerchief because of my eyes," he called after her, and her own eyes glittered.

"Careful Potter, arrogance doesn't look good on you," she snipped back, but he could have sworn she was smiling, with the way her eyes sparkled all the more, and he smirked, still following her down the hall.

They explored the rooms together, the next one more dusty and filthy than the last. They saved the worst for last: The room where Voldemort had stayed in, and where Frank Bryce had found himself facing the dark lord's wand.

Ginny put her hand on Harry's arm as he stared at the chair that was facing the fireplace.

"That's where he sat," Harry said to himself in a low mumble that Ginny just barely managed to catch. "And he turned the chair around when Bryce challenged him to face him like a man. He raised his wand and – " he broke off in time to see Ginny shudder a bit.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I probably shouldn't have said that last bit out loud."

"No, no, I'm fine," she said quickly. "You experienced it, you should be allowed to talk about it."

"Not if it bothers you," he argued.

"Oh for heaven's sake Harry, quit being noble, it's what got us barely speaking to each other last summer in the first place."

Harry cut his eyes away from her. They had barely spoken about their breakup, or that summer at all. They hadn't gotten much of a chance for one thing, as someone was always around, or else they were busy making plans for their mission. Plus, it felt like it should be taboo.

"Thanks for my birthday present by the way," he finally spoke. "It was my favorite."

Ginny tossed her hair out of her face. "You're welcome. I thought you might like it."

Harry glanced around. "Come on, let's get out of here, we should probably go find Hermione and Draco."

"You mean save Hermione from Ferret-boy."

"Something to that extent."

They walked back through the house, and out the backdoor.

"All right, stop right there!"

They halted and found themselves facing several men in blue police uniforms.

"Put your hands up – you are under arrest for breaking and entering."

Somehow, this did not bode well for the rest of the day.

* * *

**_Okay, so this chapter was a little more focused on Harry/Ginny. That wasn't my original plan, but I think it worked out okay. But don't worry, lot's of Dramione in the next chapter. I'm just beginning on it, but I can promise plenty of bickering, and maybe even a couple of touching moments :) Maybe even more inner turmoil for Draco (I swear, if it's at all possible for a character to glare at someone outside of the story, he just did so at me)!_**

**_Anyway, what'd you guys think of the Hermione/Draco argument? I know suicide's a huge deal and is terrible, and I hope Harry managed to get that point across. And what about the Harry/Ginny scene? I haven't had a lot of them in this story so far, and like I said, I wasn't planning on having their own scene in this chapter, but the chapter grew legs and ran away from me ;) So...let me know what you guys think, I love hearing from you!_**

**_Rock on!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Chapter twelve! Whoo! This would've been up yesterday, but a couple of things came up. This chapter is another long one - 3,469 words without my introduction and conclusion ;)_**

**_Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I'm not J.K Rowling, which really sucks, because she's one of the coolest people alive - I mean, come on, she's the genius who came up with the concept of Harry Potter!_**

**_Loslote: Hah, yeah, they would. They are probably the only ones who would manage to get themselves caught when they were being their sneakiest! Anyway, thank you very much!_**

**_mydirt09: Thank you! I wasn't originally planning on doing a Harry/Ginny scene - my friend had actually asked me if the story was going to be mainly Dramione about five hours before I wrote that chapter, and I had said yes...Well, they might...;) Yeah, it's just suicide is such a big deal that it seems wrong to make a joke about it without putting in some kind of warning or something..._**

**_jbfan1987: Thank you! I'm not thrilled that Ron was bitten either, but hopefully it fits in well with the story :) So thank you ;)_**

**_Torch-SherlockWho-Wood: I am doing just that, and thank you! :)_**

****__

****

The Scratch Man: Yes, he definitely is. Thanks! :) Good point - I'm an American, so that would explain why the dialect sounds American, but I'll work on making it sound more British :) Oh, I sure you it will get very interesting...;)

_**sappheiros: He was being sarcastic, he wasn't serious, but at the last minute I got a little paranoid and decided I'd have Harry freak out as well :) I'm glad you like the idea of a cramped bathroom for Hermione and Draco, maybe later on I really will have Harry lock them in there...There is some irony in that - actually the more I think about it, the more ironic it seems! Wow - I'm happy the getting-arrested part was a surprise xD Thank you! :)**_

_****___Lady 2012: Thanks, I plan to! :)

__And of course, much thanks to everyone who's favorited and placed a story alert on this story, it means so much to me! :)

__Love you all! :)

Chapter Twelve – The Ferret and the Electronics Store

Hermione seized Draco by the arm and yanked him away from Harry and Ginny, in the general direction that the town seemed to be in. Her nails were digging into his flesh, and she had an amazingly strong grip, which he supposed came from holding such thick, heavy books for so many years. He let her steer him for a few yards, but after about thirty seconds, he was sure his arm would be bleeding soon if he didn't rescue it.

He wrenched his arm out of her clutches.

"Ow!" he complained. "Why don't you clip your talons?"

She placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Why don't _**you **_clip _**your **_tongue?"

Ooh, feisty. Draco rubbed his arm while eyeing her, sizing her up, wondering if it was worth starting World War III – and probably World War IV – with her when Harry and Ginny weren't around to referee. They might actually end up killing each other, and then who else would provide the daily entertainment on the long trip to finding and destroying the horcruxes? Harry and Ginny might get bored – on second thought, no they wouldn't. But that was hardly important. What _**was**_ important was trying to be civil towards each other because together they were more than capable of beginning another war, and the current war was already wearing enough.

_And those were Harry's exact words when they had been lying in their bunks the night before. It had been extremely quiet, and Draco had just been floating off to sleep when he had heard Harry whisper: _

_"**Muffliato**."_

_"What'd you do that for?" Draco had demanded._

_"I want to talk to you about Hermione."_

_"What about her?" Draco had asked, his heart suddenly thumping so loudly he was sure that they could hear it in Brazil. Had Harry guessed about his thoughts about Hermione as he had been waking up from his insanity potion-induced sleep?_

_"Do you think you could try to get along with Hermione?"_

_Draco had been mentally preparing himself for facing Harry down about his – um – thoughts – on Hermione, and this request came as a bit of a jolt._

_"I – say **what**?"_

_"Could you try to be civil towards Hermione?"_

_"Only if she tries to be civil towards me."_

_"Draco, I know Hermione. I'm sure if you just try – "_

_"She'll put her fangs away? Yeah, that's not going to be happening anytime soon."_

_"I don't get it, you two seemed to be getting along just fine yesterday."_

_"And we've gone through our civil quota for the month. Sorry Harry, can't do it, you can't change who we are or how we act towards each other."_

_He had heard Harry sigh. "Please? Because you two are more than capable of beginning another war, all on your own, and the current war is already wearing enough. Can't you even think about it?"_

_Draco let out a deep, gusty breath, making sure that Harry knew that his next words were very reluctant. _

_"I suppose. But don't expect us to be holding hands and dancing in a circle and singing **Kumbaya**. Or falling in love, like you and Ginny, because while I'm sure you two think it would be so cute to have another couple risking their lives together – "_

_"Draco, I would be have to be madder than Bellatrix Lestrange for that thought to ever cross my mind."_

_"Good," Draco mumbled, rolling over so his face was squashed in his pillow, "cuz it'll never happen." _

_But as he had drifted his mind, the annoying voice in his head seemed to whisper right in his ear: __**Never say never**_.

"Draco? Draco? Are you still with me?"

Draco blinked and found himself looking straight at Hermione's hand, which was waving right in front of his nose.

"What? Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something or other." He shuffled his feet a bit, and then jerked his thumb towards the town.

"Well? Didn't you have stuff you wanted to buy?"

Hermione nodded, her eyes a bit startled from the shockingly new direction the conversation seemed to have taken. They walked silently together, until they reached the pathway that led into town.

"So what sort of stuff were you planning on getting?" Draco asked, turning to look at her.

She shrugged. "Whatever we can pack up easily. I'm thinking canned and packaged soups and pastas and stuff, because we won't have to worry about them going bad either, not for awhile anyway."

"And where are we going to get all of this food?"

"The same place as wizards." Hermione pointed across the street, at a small store with a half dozen or so shopping carts in front of it, and a sign hanging from the roof, over the eaves: _**Little **__**Hangleton Supermarket**_.

"What the hell is that?" Draco demanded. "What on earth is a _**supermarket**_?"

"A grocery store," Hermione answered as they reached the crosswalk. Draco made to step out into the street, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"See that screen thing on the other side?"

"What's a screen?"

Hermione breathed in and out a couple of times. If he didn't know any better, he'd think he was driving her crazy!

"You see that black square with the red hand on the lamp pole?"

"Yeah…"

"That means it isn't safe to cross, because cars are going back and forth. Haven't you ever crossed the street, even at Kings Cross?"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Do you really think Mother and Father would subject me to that? They always hired a limousine and made the chauffer get as close to the train station as possible. If the chauffer wasn't able to, then we'd perform a memory charm on him and apparate out."

Hermione shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Unbelievable. Anyway, now it's safe. See? It's turned to a person in the motion of walking. Let's go." She was still holding his arm. She moved to take her hand away, but before he knew what he was doing, Draco caught her hand in his own. She twisted to look at him in shock.

"I just want to make sure I'm safe," he told her, giving her what should have been a perfectly reasonable explanation, although it didn't change the fact that his heart was once more beating louder than a Congo drum, or that his breath was now coming out in short, hard, painful gasps. "You know, since you've done this so much, and I've never done it before."

Hermione nodded, and closed her fingers around his, and Draco nearly passed out from the sensation. _**Stop! What are you doing? This is Hermione Granger**_!

She took a step forward into the street and he mimicked her. They got across the street safely, neither of them getting run over by a car – which Draco had secretly been expecting to happen at any moment. The second they were on the sidewalk, he dropped her hand as if scared he might get burned if he held on to it for too long. His palm tingled.

Digging his fingers into his flesh in the hope of cutting off the feeling, he jerked his head towards the shopping carts. "So do we need one of those?"

Hermione paused. "I suppose we had better, who knows how much we'll be getting?"

She snatched one of the carts from the stall it had sat in, and they headed towards the door – when it suddenly slid open.

Draco leapt back. "I THOUGHT THIS WAS A MUGGLE STORE!" he yelped. "IS THIS PLACE HAUNTED BY A POLTERGEIST OR SOMETHING?"

Hermione stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle her giggles. She barely even seemed to notice the shocked, horrified, and furious looks she was getting from random passerby who had heard Draco's outburst.

"They're automatic doors, they're run off of electricity. There's a sensor or something, and when you cross over it, it causes the doors to open."

"Really?" Draco had calmed down. He walked into the store, and then turned to watch as the doors were pushed back together by – _**nothing**_. He marched back towards them, but Hermione grabbed his arm for the third time that morning, and shoved him towards another set of doors.

"Those are the exit doors," she explained, her voice catching as if she was still trying not to laugh. "The doors we just came through are for people coming into the store – the entrance doors."

So Draco walked towards the exit doors – and they opened for him without him even having to say "Open sesame". It was a truly marvelous thing to experience. He hurried out, and then looped back to go through the entrance doors. Once more, people were staring at him, and not with pleasant expressions on their faces either, but he ignored them – these doors were the best thing ever!

He made the circle four more times, before Hermione finally seized his wrist. "Draco, come on, we still have to go through those doors up ahead." She nodded towards another set of doors that Draco, in his newfound euphoria, hadn't even noticed. He beamed as widely as a child getting their first bike.

"Excellent!" and he hurried towards them. Of course, he had to go through them and out the second pair of exit doors a couple of times, but eventually Hermione managed to convince him to join her in the grocery shopping.

Readjusting his flannel button up shirt, he pushed the sleeves up another inch, exposing even more of his forearms, but Hermione tugged his left one down a half inch or so, barely touching his skin, just enough to make him shiver (_**Draco! She is Hermione Granger! THINK!**_).

"The dark mark, remember?" she hissed in his ear.

Oh yeah. Actually, for a few glorious moments, he had forgotten that he was an ex-death eater who was on the run from a homicidal psycho who was bent on taking over the world. So much for the happy thoughts.

He felt a glower set over his face. "Oh. Yeah."

Hermione studied his face for a moment, before shoving her thick hair back and pushing the cart down one aisle, which was filled with canned and packaged food, which Draco suspected was what Hermione had been talking about before. They grabbed soups and pastas and vegetables and anything else they could get their hands on, before heading up to the cash register.

It was the strangest thing: The cashiers were pressing buttons on this sort of thing that looked a bit like an old-fashioned typewrite in a picture he had seen in one of his muggle studies classes. When the cashiers hit a certain button, a long tray-like thing sprang out, and the cashier put money in it.

Hermione set the items on a long counter, with black rubber covering, and Draco watched as she waited patiently for the middle aged woman in a terrible orange wig that looked a bit like it was trying to replicate a hairstyle from 1780 in France to finish paying for her groceries. Unfortunately, the woman had a humongous leopard print wallet, and she kept handing the cashier a plastic rectangle with _**Visa **_or something imprinted on it. And each time, the cashier would shake his head and say it wouldn't work, it had no more money on it.

_**Well**_, Draco thought, _**there certainly shouldn't be! There is nothing **__**valuable about a rectangular piece of plastic with a strange word painted on it. Gold and silver and **__**bronze – those are valuable. Not PLASTIC**_!

Nevertheless, he poked Hermione in the ribs. "Why is she trying to pay him with that plastic thing? Did she take a delusional potion or something? Doesn't she know it isn't money, not even close to those pieces of paper muggles use in place of galleons and sickles and knuts?"

Once again, Hermione seemed to be on the verge of breaking out into out of control laughter. "It's hard to explain, but that piece of plastic is called a credit card, and it represents a certain amount of money."

Draco leaned back against the barrier between this checkout line and the next one. "Muggles have weird ways of paying with money."

At last, the woman finally found a credit card thingy that worked, and she moved on. And then the counter, the completely stationary counter, began moving.

Hermione took one look at him and smirked. "I'll explain how that works later," she muttered as she squeezed past him so she could pay.

They left the store soon after, with Hermione explaining how the moving counter worked.

"What is _**that**_?" Draco interrupted halfway into her explanation, pointing at a store window with a whole bunch of square – things – in different sizes in the display cases.

Hermione grinned. "That, my dear wizard, is an electronics store. Do you want to go in?"

Draco rocked back and forth on his heels. Electronics…That certainly did sound interesting…

"Are the doors going to open all by themselves again?" he asked eagerly.

Hermione shook her head. "Probably not, but maybe some of the computers will be on and you can play on them."

"What's a computer?"

She laughed and shook her head again, and pulled him into the store.

* * *

It was hilarious to watch Draco nearly drool over the laptops and iPods and MP3 Players that were displayed throughout the store. But as she eyed him, making sure he didn't break something, she began wondering if maybe some of this electronic stuff wouldn't be a bad thing…

She walked back over to where he was wiggling a mouse around, making it move across the screen, with an enraptured look on his face. It reminded her almost exactly of Mr. Weasley, who loved anything that had to with muggles and their various gadgets. It was ironic, because Draco had always been such an anti-muggle-ist, but it appeared that he was beginning to get caught up in their culture – or at least in their electronics.

"I was thinking," she said in what she prayed was an off-handed voice. He didn't even glance back at her. "That maybe we should get laptops and cell phones so we have a better way of researching stuff, and if we're ever in a muggle environment – " she spoke very quietly so as to make sure that the salesman didn't overhear her – "we can contact each other without having to give ourselves away."

She had already explained about cell phones and the like to Draco, who, while they were shopping, kept seeing people talking into the little rectangle boxes, or texting on the keyboards.

This got his attention. "Can we get electikinity in the tent?" he asked enthusiastically.

"No, I don't think we can get _**electricity**_, but we can substitute it with magic, I think."

Draco frowned, his smile drooping a bit, but he soon perked up. "Well, I suppose it's just as good anyway."

"Right," Hermione replied, smiling. "And we won't have to charge anything up, nothing will ever die on us."

Draco tilted his head, gray eyes narrowing in confusion.

Hermione took a deep breath, preparing herself to explain about charging muggle gadgets to him.

An hour and a half later, they walked out of a cell phone service store. The beaded bag was now weighted down with a laptop, four iPods, a bunch of CDs, iTunes gift cards, and four cell phones. Draco had insisted on getting the iPods, CDs, and iTunes gift cards, because he loved the concept of being able to store music in a small little box.

"So where do you think Harry and Ginny ended up at?" Hermione asked, peering around at the mildly crowded streets, as if hoping to see them appear out of shoe store at any moment.

"I can guess," Draco said easily, but then he paused. "Actually, no I can't. In the tent when we're standing guard I can fathom – but in the Riddle house, or in the graveyard…? No, no, that's way too out there."

"They're not having sex Draco, if that's what you're getting at," Hermione retorted.

"Now, or ever?"

"Both!"

Draco snickered. "So I was right – they really aren't getting any."

"Not everyone hops into bed with the first person who'll have them, _**Draco**_," Hermione snarled back, putting a heavy, disgusted emphasis on his name.

He put his hand to his heart and adapted a wounded expression. "Moi? As if I would!"

When she just raised her eyebrows, he dropped his hand and smirked. "Okay, I would, and I have, but not now. Not anymore."

"Really. Because if I remember correctly, you had quite the reputation in school."

"And does it look like we're in school?" He spread his arms as if to emphasize his point.

Hermione rolled her eyes for what felt like the ten millionth time that day. "I don't really want to have this conversation, it makes me very uncomfortable."

"Hey, you're the one who brought it up," Draco retorted, the smirk still gracing his features.

"What's the matter? Jealous?"

She whirled around, a ferocious expression on her face. How dare he – ?

"Has it ever occurred to you, _**Malfoy**_, that I don't go around sticking my nose in other people's business, especially not something as private and personal as that?"

"And yet, you just did."

"By accident! I assure you, it won't happen again." And she began to walk away.

"Oh, I don't mind," he called after her, and broke into a stride of his own, easily catching up with her. "I have nothing to hide."

"Of course you don't. That's because you're a pig who has no idea how to respect a female!"

"Hey, I respect you!"

She pulled a skeptical expression.

"No, seriously, I do! You're smart, you're brave, you're self-sacrificing, you love Arithmancy, you take milk, four spoonfuls of sugar, and a half spoonful of honey in your tea, and you call me Malfoy when you're pissed at me."

Hermione stared at him. Had he actually been paying _**attention**_?

He smirked. "See Hermione, I can respect you, and I do. I respect Ginny too, she has all the same damn Gryffindor qualities you and Harry have too."

Hermione chewed down on her lip. After several seconds, she spoke: "I think we better go find Harry and – "

"Excuse me, are you two Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy?"

They both turned away from each other to find themselves face to face with a short, pudgy policeman in a blue uniform.

"Yeah…" Hermione said hesitantly. What if this guy was a death eater masquerading as a death eater?

"We've got a couple of kids down at the station, says they know you."

"Who are they?" Draco jumped in.

"Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley? Boy's about – up to here – " he lifted his hand a few inches above his head to show them – "with black hair and green eyes – really startling ones, I've never seen ones like 'em – and the girl's tiny, with long red hair, and quite a mouth on her."

Hermione and Draco exchanged glances. Yep, that sounded like them.

"How come they're down there?" Hermione demanded, propping her hands on her hips.

"We caught them breaking and entering into the old Riddle house. The new gardener saw them breaking in, and called us. Normally we would've just fined them on the spot, but they didn't have any money on 'em, so we brought them down there. They said you two would pay their fine?"

Hermione and Draco glanced at each other again. Did they really have any choice?

"Of course we will," Hermione said quickly, pulling her bag open. "How much is the fine?"

The policeman held up his hand. "Not so fast, Miss. You see, in this town, due to counterfeit bills and the like that have been passed, we require a registered lawyer when the fine is being paid."

Hermione and Draco stared at each other, horrified.

Now what?

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think? Did I write Draco's thoughts and experiences in the muggle (haha) stores okay? And what about Draco's newfound love of technology? I'm not completely sure it goes with his character, but I figured that if given the chance, he might really be into all the latest techno gadgets..._****_Let me know, because I love hearing from you guys!_**

**_ Lots and lots of love!_**

**_ Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_Whoo! Chapter Thirteen! This one's a little bit shorter than the last few have been, but if I had included everything I wanted in it, it probably would have ended up being as long as one of the actual books ;)_**

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, why on earth would I be writing Harry Potter fanfiction? So no, I'm not J.K Rowling, just a teenage girl who loves writing but doesn't want to get sued._**

****

__

OBLuve13: Thank you! I love writing in plot twists :) They always make the story so much more interesting - even though this particular one added a lot more to the story than I had originally planned!

****Loslote: You're right, this could get very interesting. But all four of them are resourceful, so I'm sure they'll figure something out...Somehow or other...;)

****sappheiros: Thank you! Haha, yes they are :) I know, right? I still love sliding doors, they're the most fantabulous thing evah! Hmmm...very observant...there might just be a little bit more to his "respect" for Hermione, you never know ;)

****mydirt09: Don't worry, the moment's coming up...And I imagine they might have to use magic...:)

****.17: Thank you! That's more or less what I was going for, I loved writing Draco and his newfound obsession with electronics!

xoRetributionox: Thank you so much! I was hoping Draco's enthusiasm in the stores would add a little bit of humor to the story, so I'm glad you enjoyed it! Trouble...well, trouble seems to follow Hermione, Draco, Harry, and Ginny around no matter where they go, so...Anyway, thanks, I think Draco really needs to go through some character growth, which I am currently having him do :)

And of course, to all the beautiful, wonderful people who favorited, story alerted, or author alerted this story or, well, me, thank you very much!

I love getting reviews, favorite, story, and author alerts, because it's nice to know that people are reading and enjoying the story! :) Love you guys! :)

* * *

Chapter Thirteen – Death Eaters In a Muggle Village?

They were screwed. They were so screwed.

That was the mantra that kept on playing over and over in Hermione's mind, like a song on repeat. How the hell were they going to get Harry and Ginny out of the town jail? They had about as much chance to hire a lawyer as they did finding a cure for werewolf bites.

As Hermione and Draco followed the policeman down the street, towards the large brick building with a sign stating _**Little Hangleton Jail**_, Draco nudged her in the side and bent down to mutter in her ear: "We can always _**confund**_ them if need be."

Hermione nodded, although she shifted away; the feel of his breath on her skin was…nice – no, strange. It was strange. Yes, that was it. Strange. Uncomfortable. Those were good words for it.

"But only as a last resort, because the Ministry has records of each witch and wizard in muggle towns, and they'll know if we perform magic in the actual town, amongst a few thousand muggles." Her voice was low so as to make sure no one heard.

"Are you two sure you wouldn't rather just go and find a lawyer?" the cop called over his shoulder at the two teenagers.

"Why? Do you know any good lawyers that'll handle a teenage trespassing case?" Draco replied coolly. "Because don't lawyers like being paid, just the tiniest bit?"

"Er…"

They walked into the police station, and were immediately hit by the overwhelming smells of strong coffee, dirt, and sweat.

The cop nudged another policeman. "Where're the two kids that we brought in a little while ago? The ones who illegally entered the Riddle House?"

"They're in one of the cells," the other policeman answered as he flipped through multi-colored papers attached to a wooden clipboard. "Mind you, I don't know why we're bothering locking them up, lots of kids try to get into that house."

"Yes," a policewoman joined the conversation, a Styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand, "but how many do you know who have actually managed to get into the place? The lock is the best Bellavieve could find; remember when they found Frank Bryce dead in there? Perfectly healthy except for a bad leg, and no marks on him whatsoever, just like the Riddles, nearly exactly fifty years previously. No explanation whatsoever. Something strange goes on in that house, and we can't have teenagers roaming around it."

"That's shit," the second policeman said. "Bellavieve doesn't care how many people die in that fucking house, he's just worried about the insurance money, and the fact that because of the dark shroud the Riddle and Bryce deaths caused, he can't rent it out to anyone. No one wants it, it's said to be cursed, or haunted, or both."

Beside Hermione, Draco snorted. Hermione threw him a warning look, but no one paid any attention to him.

"Well, I for one don't want to see anyone else end up dead in that house," the woman retorted.

"And I would think Bellavieve wouldn't either, because it doesn't exactly reflect well on him."

"Bellavieve?" Hermione spoke up. "Is he the – ?"

"The owner," the policewoman confirmed with a nod. "Bloody git, hardly ever visits the place, and then gets pissed when something goes wrong with the house. He can't seem to get it through his thick head that the effing house is _**old**_. He expects everyone to do everything, without any input from him. In my opinion, he doesn't pay the gardener and groundskeepers enough."

"Aren't gardener and groundskeeper the same thing?" Draco asked.

"Similar, yes; but in this case the gardener tends to the rather large gardens, and the groundskeepers – that's plural – manage everything else."

The second policeman kicked back against the wall, one foot flat against it. "Let me tell you, it took ages for him to find a new gardener, close to a year and a half."

"Because the old gardener was killed?" Hermione piped up.

"You got it. No one wanted the job, just like no wants to live in the house. This current gardener had lost his job and was about to lose his house, he had no choice but to apply for the job."

"How long has Bellavieve owned the house?" Draco wanted to know.

"Just a little over three years. The old owner sold it to him after Bryce was discovered in the house."

"What's his full name?"

"Bellavieve's? Mordred was his first name, I don't know if he has a middle name."

Draco nodded, his face stony. "Would you mind if we saw our friends now? Once we do, we'll see if we can find a lawyer."

The second cop nodded and glanced at the first cop, who was now munching on chocolate glazed donuts.

"You take 'em, I'm about to go on my lunch break," the first cop said, licking the frosting from his fingers.

The second cop rolled his eyes, but beckoned Hermione and Draco forward. Once they entered the hall that led through the cells, he began talking again.

"Imprisoning a couple of teenagers for a simple act of trespassing, this is ridiculous. They didn't even break the lock, the gardener or one of the groundskeepers probably had to go in there at some point in the last few months and forgot to lock it properly. And they got out just fine, didn't seem shaken or anything. But after Bryce's murder…And strange happenings have been going on in that house."

"Such as?" Draco prompted him.

"Such as weird colorful lights being seen through the windows. A couple of times we've seen something really strange hovering over the roof of the house. It must've been a firework…"

"What did it look like?" Draco's voice was now more urgent, and Hermione turned her head to look at him. His face was even paler than usual, and his gray eyes were dark steel with worry.

"Like a…A skull…With a snake coming out of its mouth."

When Hermione and Draco exchanged horrified looks, the cop laughed.

"I know, pretty bizarre right? It must've beeen an extremely ingenious firework, what else could it have been?"

What else could it have been indeed?

"Here we are," he said, and they halted right in front of a set of bars. Harry and Ginny were in a cell, with a cot, and not much else.

"Right. I'll leave you four to it then," he added, and walked away, checking on the other prisoners as he went along.

"Well, it's about time you two got here!" Ginny cried, leaping from the bed and hurrying over to the door, Harry following her.

"Don't get excited, we need a – "

" – A lawyer, we know. So what're we going to do? I'd say the _**confundus**_ charm, that one works wonders," Ginny was off and running, but she caught the look on their faces and immediately shut up. "What's wrong?"

"There's at least one death eater here in Little Hangleton, at least part time," Draco told her. He looked at Hermione. "Incase you didn't pick up this little tidbit, Mordred Bellavieve is a death eater, nearly as deep into the Chief Death Eater's inner circle as the Malfoys once were, or the Lestranges."

"I've never heard of him," Harry said.

"Well, no, you wouldn't. He was very high up in the Ministry, in charge of keeping track of witches and wizards who live in or around muggle towns. He was never caught, he was much too sneaky and smart, and knew just who to suck up to. But if he owns the house, then that means – "

"That the Chief Death Eater probably has people watching it," Hermione finished for him.

"Could they be the gardener or groundskeepers?"

"I doubt it, we would've been killed on the spot if it had been them," Harry told them. "But who knows, they might just be watching the town."

"Or the ruins?" Ginny said softly.

The horrible truth sunk in like a brick. Had they been seen when they had replaced the ring?

Hermione buried her face in her hands. "I should've performed _**Homenum Revelio**_ before we did anything. And we should've at the very least disguised ourselves, the Chief Death Eater's probably on his way here right now!"

Harry shook his head. "I would've felt it, but he doesn't know we're here. And in any case, we would've been captured if we were seen by a death eater, there's no way they would have just let us go."

Hermione nodded. "That's true."

"So…What now?" Ginny wanted to know.

"We go and see if we can find a lawyer. _**If**_ we have no other choice, then we will _**confund**_ the entire bloody station, but that's if there's no alternative," Hermione stated firmly. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She opened her bag and dug around it, finally locating Harry and Ginny's brand new cell phones. "Here you go. They're activated, and we've performed the spell to run them off of magic. There's instruction manuals with them."

"Um – what are these?" Ginny asked, eyeing her phone as she turned the plastic covered device over in her hands.

"Cell phones!"

"Oh, right, those felly-tones that you can take with you anywhere. Cool!"

"Right. Well, good luck, see you guys soon," Harry said, as Hermione and Draco moved away from the cell.

A couple of minutes later, Hermione and Draco were outside, blinking the bright sunlight.

"So any idea where the cheapest lawyer is?" Draco asked.

Hermione shook her head. "None whatsoever."

The pair plopped down wearily on a bench, and Draco dug his own phone out of his jeans pocket.

"This thing's amazing," he said. "I wish wizards had stuff like this, it would be the best thing ever."

Hermione smiled at him. "Who would've thought that you were a technology buff?"

He returned her grin. "No one who I know." There was a pause. "Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever – I dunno – been attracted to someone who you didn't want to be attracted to?"

Hermione looked at him sharply. "Ron maybe, because he was my best friend. Why? Have you?"

"Er…" he shifted on the bench a bit uncomfortably. "Not – not really – oh cool! There's games on this!"

"Where?" Hermione asked, distracted.

"Here," he said, leaning over and helping her find the games on her own phone. As he did so, his thumb brushed over her fingers. Hermione felt her heart begin hammering against her chest as if she had just run about twenty miles, and her skin suddenly heated up like she had held her hand over a flame. Her breath caught in her chest, and she raised her eyes to look at Draco. Their eyes met. His thumb had not moved, and Hermione realized that she didn't want it to. His eyes were gentle, much gentler than she ever seen them, and there was a vulnerable look in them, a look she had never thought would be possible on Draco Malfoy's face.

And then her cell phone beeped with the beginning of Uno.

They both leapt back, startled, and Hermione fumbled with her phone. "Oh – er – um…"

What on earth do you say to someone when your cell phone acts like a chaperone?

"Oh, good, it's working," Draco said, his own face every bit as flushed as Hermione imagined hers was. "Awesome."

"Ummm…" she had no idea what to say to him. What had just happened?

"Wow, this is fun!" he said with a bit too much enthusiasm, and he settled back to play on his own phone. Considering he had never held a cell phone in his life before today, he seemed to be doing exceptionally well.

Hermione leaned against the back of the bench, and reached for the instruction manual, just for something to do. _**Boys are like technology – they're much too complicated for their own good, and **__**they should come with instruction manuals**_, she thought furiously.

She began flipping through the booklet, although her eyes weren't picking up more than a word here and there. Her mind was on the – moment – between her and Draco. What had just happened? And what was up with that question? Had he been talking about her? Was that his way of finding out how she felt about him? But weren't boys supposed to be more straightforward? Wouldn't he have just come out and asked her? Or was he one of those boys who excelled in mind games?

Or maybe she had just managed to misread the signs. That was a definite possibility. Of course, it would be partially his fault. If she had misread the signs, then Draco had labeled them wrong. After all, the signs seemed fairly obvious. And now he was acting like they weren't even there.

"Hermione!" he poked her in her ribs, and she turned to him, startled, wondering for a split second if he had been able to hear her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Look!" he nodded his head towards two men. One was blond and bulky, and the other was slighter, with a pockmarked face. Thorfinn Rowle and Antonin Dolohov, two known death eaters, whom a year before Harry, Ron, and Hermione had managed to run into at a muggle cafe.

Hermione groaned. This day just kept on getting better and better.

* * *

**_Okay, please, please, pretty please don't kill me! I know this is getting dragged out, I know you guys want to know how Harry and Ginny are going to get out of jail, and I know another plot twist just got added, which will make it even more complicated, but on the bright side - Dramione! Could you guys focus on that, not the fact that Harry and Ginny are still stuck in jail, Hermione and Draco still need a lawyer, and death eaters are now hanging out in a muggle village (say what?) ? :D _**

**_Don't worry, I am in fact making plans to get Harry and Ginny out of jail, I'm not leaving them in there! _**

**_Anyway, on to a slightly less dangerous note (I hope) what do you guys think of the Dramione moment? I thought I would do this entire chapter from Hermione's POV because we'd been getting a lot from Draco, and we knew what was going through his mind, but what about how Hermione was feeling? So if anyone was wondering that, hopefully this will answer the question (plus, I was wondering that myself, so I just answered my own question xD)!_**

**_So...I would love to hear from you guys, and let me know what you think of this chapter!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Rock on!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	15. Chapter 15

**_And Chapter Fourteen is finally here! I'm so sorry, I went through a minor writer's block, and I'm still not as happy with this chapter as I would like to be. I was hoping it would be longer, but at least it's written!_**

**_Disclaimer: If I was J.K Rowling, would I really be writing Dramione fanfiction? In fact, would I be writing fanfiction about the Harry Potter universe at all. Nope. I don't own anything, that's all J.K Rowling, and I'm not her, although that would be freaking awesome!_**

**_Loslote: Thank you so much! It's nice to know that all of the extra drama I ended up adding isn't getting on your nerves, and that you're focusing on Dramione instead of how long it's taken me to get Harry and Ginny out of jail! So thank you!:)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying all the little twists and turns I keep sticking in here! Thanks, I love writing the Dramione moments! Haha, I think you've got Voldemort down perfectly! Thank you! :)_**

**_The Scratch Man: Thanks for your review! Your question is actually answered in this chapter :)_**

**_xoRetributonox: Thank you! Yes, unfortunately it is. Thanks! :)_**

**_Aparecium88: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! :)_**

**_And of course, thank you to all those wonderful people who were kind enough to click on the story alert and favorite buttons, and to everyone who has been reading this story! 3_**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen – How To Break Your Friends Out of Jail

"Oh my God, oh my God, _**oh my God**_!" Hermione squealed just loud enough for Draco to hear. "I can't believe this. I can't believe that _**they're**_ here!"

"Yeah, well, get used to it, because they're standing about five yards away from us."

After a split second of silence, Hermione leapt to her feet, dragging Draco with her. "Come on, first we need to get undercover somewhere."

"Where?"

"I dunno, just start walking."

They began walking down the street, away from the two death eaters, head bowed, hands intertwined, like they were two extremely shy people who were dating. After several minutes of shuffling and shoving through the small crowds, Hermione caught sight of a café.

"Quick, in here!" she cried, pulling Draco into the restaurant.

He glanced around at the lime green walls, large windows, and wooden tables. "What the hell Hermione?"

"Don't tell me you've never been in a café!"

"Never a muggle one."

Before he could say anything else, the blonde hostess flashed Draco a shimmering smile and Hermione a haughty look. She was very obviously giving Hermione the once over, and Hermione tried not to squirm under her gaze. Was it her fault her hair was ridiculously thick and curly, or that she wasn't a size zero with a chest that could have passed as a beach ball, like the hostess was?

"Can I help you with anything?" the hostess simpered at Draco.

"Yeah…Could we get a table for two please – somewhere quiet?"

This last request was to make sure that they couldn't be seen from the street incase the death eaters happened to be passing by.

"Of course," the hostess said with a nod that made her ponytail bob up and down. "This way."

She grabbed two menus off of the stand and led them through the crowded sunlit café to a table in the farthest corner from the door.

"This is the most private table we have," she explained, once more addressing Draco directly and moving so that she was standing in front of Hermione. Hermione crossed her arms and glared at the taller woman's backside.

"I believe this'll work," she said loudly. "What do you think darling? Think this'll work? This should be quiet enough for us to work and arrange the wedding guest list."

Draco and the hostess both stared at her with their jaws nearly hitting the floors. Hermione smiled sweetly at them.

"Ohhhh…How…_**Precious**_," the hostess sneered, as if tossing an insult in their direction.

Draco caught her tone of voice and frowned. He moved around her so that he could slip his arm around Hermione and did his best to look ecstatically happy.

"Yes I know, isn't it?" he said with a wide beam that made his face feel as if it was being contorted in a million different directions. He had dealt with this sort of girl a million different times. They were rather common in Slytherin.

The woman now had a very nasty look on her face that made Hermione wonder if there would be a few bodily fluids in her drinking water.

"Right," she snarled. "I'll just leave you two – _**lovebirds**_ – to it."

She stalked off, her miniskirt swishing around her thighs as if just as affronted as the wearer.

The second she was out of sight Hermione and Draco burst into laughter, hurrily trying to stifle the sounds as other diners glared threateningly at them. Hermione ducked out from under Draco's arm and slid across the red padded bench on one side of the table, until she was up against the wall. Draco sat down on the opposite side and crawled over so he was directly across from his female company.

"So," he said once he was leaning comfortably against the back of the bench, "what're we doing in here?"

Hermione threw him an amazed look. "I thought it was rather obvious Draco."

She turned her body around, hands out, staring pointedly at the diners. "We're here to _**eat**_."

"And explain to me why we're stuck in a muggle café when we should be working on getting Harry and Ginny out of jail and then getting the hell out of the country? I don't know if you remember this Granger, but…we. Have. Death. Eaters. On. Our. _**Fucking tails**_!"

Hermione calmly opened the menu the hostess had placed on her side of the table and glanced down at it. "I believe I'll have a cheeseburger with a side ordering of cheese sticks – I haven't had any greasy junk food in ages, and I must admit, I miss it." She sighed. "I suppose I should have a small salad as well. But a nice large chocolate milkshake – oh wait! Fantastic! They have Oreo milkshakes!"

Draco stared at her, wondering mildly if she had gone crazy. So he asked the question that was most weighing on his mind:

"What's an Oreo milkshake?"

Hermione grinned widely at him over the top of her menu. "Oh, it's wonderful! Oreos are these muggle cookies. They're basically chocolate cookie sandwiches, with either vanilla or chocolate frosting in between the two cookies. You do know what a milkshake is, don't you?"

Draco nodded. "Of course. Mum and Dad used to take me out for milkshakes at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor when I was a child. I was rather partial to the butterbeer and pumpkin juice flavored ones."

Hermione made a face, but continued on. "Anyway, an Oreo milkshake is a milkshake with bits of Oreo and Oreo ice cream in it."

Draco raised a slender eyebrow skeptically. "And you want to get a milkshake with chunks of cookie in it?"

"Erm…something like that…"

"Right, well…Wow, these people have strange taste – M&M milkshake? What is that?"

"A muggle chocolate sweet of sorts," Hermione said. "Tell you what, if we get out of here alive, we'll go shopping soon and we'll buy all sorts of things."

Draco nodded. "Sounds good."

A waitress who apparently had a gum-chewing fetish appeared at their table with a notepad and pen and asked to take their order.

Hermione ended up skipping over the salad, sticking with her cheeseburger, cheese sticks, and an Oreo milkshake. Draco ordered a bacon cheeseburger, an extra large side of cheesy fries ("With extra salt and could you go heavy on the cheese?"), and, feeling brave, tried his hand at an M&M milkshake. Once the waitress had jotted down their order and walked away, Draco once more leaned back against the back of the seat. Rock music was blaring from somewhere over his head.

"Why is there music? Where's it coming from?" he asked Hermione.

"Speakers. They're an electronic device that's used to blast out music so people can hear it," she explained. "That's what those headphones and ear buds are for, so people can hear, but it won't annoy anyone else. But restaurants often have music playing in the background. This one just happens to be playing the music a bit loud."

Draco listened and was able to catch what sounded like the chorus:

"_**There's nothing good about goodbye**_

_**I could swear I saw you cry**_

_**I always knew you'd wind up**_

_**F-Falling**_

_**F-Falling harder**_

_**Every story has two sides**_

_**In the he-said she-said fight**_

_**But you'll always wind up**_

_**F-falling**_

_**F-falling harder**_

_**There's nothing good about goodbye**_"

"Do you know who this song is by?" he asked Hermione.

She tilted her head and listened for a few seconds, before answering. "It's by a muggle band called _**Hinder**_. The song is '_**Nothin' Good About Goodbye**_'."

Draco nodded. "I never would have pegged you for a rock n' roll lover."

Hermione shrugged with a mischievous smile. "There's a lot you don't know about me Mr. Malfoy. And I for one never would have thought of you as someone who would love rock music either."

Draco grinned slyly at her. "There's a lot you don't know about me Miss Granger."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, just as their food arrived.

"So any ideas on how we're going to get Harry and Ginny out?" Hermione asked as she took a bite of her burger.

Draco shook his head. "Magic is out, only as a last resort."

"Obvious – "

"Not because of the muggles, but because the death eaters have invented a spell. It lets them know when there's magical activity in a place that shouldn't. It's one way to track muggle borns and blood traitors on the run."

Hermione could feel the blood draining from her face. "You're kidding me."

He shook his head again. "I wish I was, but not in the least. It helps if they're actually in the area, when I was still one of them, they hadn't perfected it yet. But it'll be much too dangerous to use magic, only if we're spotted."

Hermione nodded. "We should have just had Harry and Ginny apparate out," she muttered. "Then we wouldn't be stuck in this mess."

"Except that if we did, there would quite a bit of minds to wipe." Draco picked up a fry that was oozing gooey cheese and popped it in his mouth. "At the time it wasn't worth the mess."

Hermione nodded before taking her last bite of her cheeseburger, and beginning on her cheese sticks. "So I say we go in under the guise of visiting Harry and Ginny, and then one of us distracts the officers, and the other one creates a bit of smoke with their wand and waves it under the fire alarm – "

"The what?"

"It's an alarm that can sense smoke."

"Oh, okay. Continue on then please."

"Thank you so much for your permission. Anyway, I assume there's some sort of emergency button that unlocks all of the prisoners' cells, and we grab Harry and Ginny and _**run**_."

Draco nodded. "And if we're spotted?"

"We make the biggest mess we can come up with."

"How?"

"Must I think of everything?"

Draco shoveled the last few fries into his mouth, and said through a full mouth, making sure to give Hermione a good show of the chewed up food,

"Well, as you are the smartest witch of our generation – OW!" Hermione had just kicked his shin as hard as she could. He glared at her. "You better hope we don't have to do any running."

Hermione ignored this comment and instead fixed her gaze on his still-full M&M milkshake. "Hey, are you ever going to give your milkshake a try?"

Draco eyed it. "I dunno…It looks like Longbottom's wart removing potion after his hat fell in it and he managed to catch the entire cauldron on fire.

"Just try it," Hermione urged him.

"Well," he said slowly, stirring the thick mixture with the straw that was sticking out of the glass. "I suppose…Wouldn't want the Gryffindor princess to think I'm a coward." And with a smirk, he took a large sip. "Merlin's pants! This is amazing!"

Hermione grinned. "Told you so."

They finished their food and drinks and left. Hermione was the one with the muggle money, so she paid.

They stepped out into the brilliant sunshine, and immediately turned left, in the direction of the jail. As they passed by the bench that they had been sitting on earlier, they caught sight of Rowle and Dolohov at the exact same time.

"I think they know we're here," Draco muttered to Hermione. "I don't know how, but they do."

"Are you sure? They're doing a terrible job of watching for us. They're staring at the street."

"Probably trying to figure out how cars work, believe me, Rowle isn't the meanest dragon in the pack if you catch my meaning. And Dolohov...Well, you would think he'd be slapping Rowle around the head and telling him to pay attention, but he's probably flabbergasted by the cars as well."

However, as they turned towards the jail, Draco saw the two death eaters swivel around. Hermione chose that moment to look back over her shoulder. The two teenagers locked eyes with the two death eaters. For a split second there was silence as everyone froze, and then…

… "RUN!" Draco yelled, and he and Hermione took off, feet pounding against the pavement as they raced up the driveway to the entrance. Draco wrenched the door open and stood back as Hermione slid in past him. He glanced over his shoulder just long enough to confirm that the death eaters were in fact chasing after them before skidding in after Hermione and yanking the door shut. He turned back to find the entire police station staring at them. Not that he could blame them, considering the way they had run in there like they had a couple of psychos chasing after them. Which, ironically enough, they did.

"We're here to see our friends!" Hermione squeaked out, and they took off, towards the hallway, just as the door sprang open and the two death eaters came crashing in. Hermione and Draco pulled out their wands and shot protective spells around the muggles and curses at the death eaters. The muggles all appeared too stunned to do anything. The two teenagers skidded down the hallway, and Draco waved his wand so that smoke was coming out of the tip. He held it under the fire alarm that hung on the wall as Hermione directed him, and a few seconds later, an ear-piercing wail had erupted from the tiny box.

"FIRE!" he yelled. "EVERYONE OUT! THERE'S A FIRE!" It was the only way how they would be able to get everyone out somewhat safely. Because there were death eaters in the building, they needed everyone out at once.

Every single cell door sprang open and from out in the lobby there were the sounds of stamping feet as everyone tried to get out at once. Hermione and Draco shrank against the wall as the prisoners ran out past them.

"_**STUPEFY**_! _**AVADA KEDAVRA**_!"

With a terrible lurch of fear, Draco and Hermione peered out into the front room in time to see Rowle and Dolohov shooting curses at every muggle they could get at. Muggle after muggle fell to the ground. The woman cop was nearly at the door when Dolohov shot a _**Cruciatus**_ curse at her.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "_**Petrificus Totalus**_!"

Dolohov dodged aside, and the curse hit Rowle.

"What the hell is going on?" Harry and Ginny had joined them.

"Well Harry," Ginny said dryly as she pulled out her wand as well, "from the looks of things, I would say death eaters have attacked the jail." She threw one of her infamous bat-bogey hexes at Dolohov. It hit him square in the face.

"We have to get out of here _**now**_!" Draco roared. "Come on Hermione, everyone alive has gotten out but us. Let's go!"

Hermione nodded and shot one last body-binding curse at Dolohov. This one caught him by

surprise, mainly because due to Ginny's curse, he couldn't see as well as he normally would have been able to.

"_**OBLIVIATE**_!" she screamed, erasing the death eaters' memories of the past ten minutes."

Dolohov and Rowle's eyes glazed over as Hermione grasped hands with Draco and Ginny, and Ginny with Harry. The four of them turned on the spot and disappeared into the tightening darkness.

* * *

**_Sooooo...What did you guys think? I finally got Harry and Ginny out of jail, and had Hermione, Draco, Harry, and Ginny fight a couple of death eaters while they were at it. Did anyone recognize Hinder or the lyrics? For those who haven't but are interested I urge you all to go and look them up! I was listening to the song that was playing in the cafe while I was writing this, and that's how the song ended up in this chapter :D_**

**_Anyway, let me know what you guys think!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	16. Chapter 16

**_Here's Chapter Fifteen! It's fairly long, but it'll be a lot lighter and humorous than the last one :)_**

**_Disclaimer: The only way I'll ever be J.K Rowling is if someone invents a body-switching machine. Unfortunately that hasn't happened yet, so nope, not J.K Rowling._**

**_Loslote: Yes they are, and I'm so excited about it! Thank you! :)_**

**_mycavasisblank: Thanks, I sort of have the same sense of humor as Draco, so it was really easy to incorperate it into the story. Haha, I agree, I can totally imagine Fred and George saying something like that! Haha, yes he is, at least when he's not acting like a jerk. Definitely! I think you're right, he's an attention seeker, but has never gotten the right kind of attention. Of course, the other choice might be right as well ;) Not at all, I think so too, and Draco was telling the truth, just very bluntly. Haha, thanks, I'm not a huge fan of those fanfics either. And it wouldn't make sense for me to blame Draco's attitude on his parents, not with what happened in the prologue. Thanks, and yes, they did as a matter of fact! No, I didn't think he would be horrible when in that situation either (obviously) so thank you :) That it does! Yeah, I felt really bad for Draco while I was writing that scene, poor guy. The movie did a phenomonal version of it! Who knows? Maybe he does ;) Haha, thank you, I loved writing the part about the automatic doors! :)_**

**_Ginnyx34eva: Thank you so much! Yes, he is, but he's learning pretty quickly :)_**

**_LoonyMoony1396: Thank you! "Nothin' Good About Goodbye" is one of my favorite songs, so I just had to put it in :)_**

**_midnightstar4ever: Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying it :)_**

**_Daniellexx: Thanks! :)_**

**_sappheiros: Yeah, so do I. Haha, that's a good word for it! Thank you! I have a few ideas, so hopefully I'll get those chapters written soon :)_**

**_.xx: Thank you very much! I'm glad you're enjoying the bickering! :)_**

**_And of course, thank you to everyone who hit the story alert and favorite buttons, you guys are awesome! :)_**

**_And now for Chapter Fifteen :)_**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen – Let's Lock Hermione and Draco In the Bathroom!

They landed hard in the middle of a clearing, and every single one of them keeled over from the impact. Trees surrounded them on all sides, and the grass was long and unruly. The sun was just barely filtering in through the branches, casting the ground in shadows all around them.

"Ugh," Draco muttered, putting his hands to his now bruised stomach. "Who was steering? Because whichever one of you it was, I think you need to have your apparition license suspended."

"Actually," Harry retorted, rubbing the arm he had fallen on, "I never got my apparition license, and neither did Ginny, only Hermione did. So we can't have our licenses suspended. And you shouldn't complain either, because you're no better at apparating then I am."

"But at least you didn't fall on your newly healed ribs," Draco groaned. "I think I felt something crack."

"Hopefully it was your head," Ginny muttered as she rolled over onto her back. "Damn death eaters, how did they know we were there?"

"Maybe they perfected that magic tracing spell?" Hermione suggested, also from where she was lying on the ground. She turned her head to look at Draco, who caught her eye.

"It's possible," he said doubtfully. "Dolohov is a nasty piece of work, and Rowle can be as well, but they generally only get sent out after runaways, not the Golden Trio and the death eater traitor. Maybe they thought it was only muggle borns and blood traitors who were in that town, not us. I mean, they obviously knew that wizards and witches were there, but they couldn't have known it was us, otherwise Bellatrix Lestrange and probably Fenrir Greyback would have been sent after us."

"But how would they have known?" Ginny spoke up. "You mentioned a magic tracing spell?" she looked at Hermione.

They explained what it was quickly, and once they were done, Harry and Ginny both nodded.

"We apparated in, and I used _**Alohomora**_ to get into the house. We must've set the tracing spell off."

"But why not stand and wait outside the Riddle house?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"They must've heard that the intruders were arrested," Harry replied.

Draco nodded. "That would explain why they were so close to the jail. They probably suspected it was some of the Order and wanted to catch them."

"Gee, really?" Ginny deadpanned. "I never would have guessed."

There was a pause in which Draco glared at her, but kept his mouth shut for once. After some hesitation, Hermione cleared her throat.

"We should set up the tent and protective spells, and quickly. We did just barely escaped from two death eaters after all."

The others agreed and they got to work. Hermione and Ginny pulled out the tent and erected it while Harry and Draco cast the protective spells about ten feet in each direction, with the tent at the center point.

The next day was relatively silent compared to their adventures from the previous day. The day after that was just as dull, but tense in a way. The pressure of almost being killed seemed to be building, until it was it was ready to combust, and combust it did. It was pouring down rain outside, and tempers were running high after being trapped together for forty-eight straight hours – Hermione and Draco seemed determined to kill the other before the day was over. This was nothing unusual for them, but they hadn't stopped bickering since the moment they got up.

Harry and Ginny were working on staying out of it; they were playing slapjack, a muggle game that Ginny had never played, although she was astonishingly good at it. Both she and Harry had the reflexes of Quidditch players, and they were fairly evenly matched at this game. It was intense enough that they were able to focus on the cards, other than their two bickering companions who were sitting on the floor behind them. At least for the most part.

"For the last time Draco, will you _**please**_ keep your music down?" she cried as Metallica's song _**Enter Sandman**_ blasted from the computer speakers.

"What, don't you like the thrumming guitars?" Draco asked innocently. "I don't see how it's much louder than that Hinder song they were playing at the café."

"At least at the café they didn't have the volume up to ear splitting decibels," Hermione retorted. "How can you even hear yourself thinking?" she added as she clapped her hands over her ears.

"Harry and Ginny don't seem to have a problem with it," Draco replied coolly.

"Leave us out of this," Harry told him.

"So what, my dear Hermione, would you like to listen to?" Draco asked as he began typing. "Some Evanescence? Maybe a little Nightwish? My word, but these muggle bands are brilliant. Not as good as the Weird Sisters, but still excellent."

"What I'm trying to figure out," Hermione spoke loudly, hands still over her ears as Draco punched up a Norma Jean song, "is how you know about all of these bands when you vehemently hated anything muggle just a few days ago." Her eyes were screwed up as the singer began to scream into the microphone.

"Easy," Draco said, leaning back, his head bobbing to the rhythm. "YouTube."

"Well, can you play something that _**doesn't**_ give everyone in the room a headache?" Hermione demanded sharply.

"Speak for yourself, I'm perfectly fine," Draco retorted. "In fact, I'm more than perfectly fine, I'm absolutely perfect!"

"I'll be sure to get that head-reducing potion to you sometime tomorrow morning," Hermione said sarcastically.

Draco raked his fingers through his white blond hair. "Don't hurry, I'm in no rush."

"Oh, I intend to, because the rest of us don't particularly enjoy having to put up with an annoyingly egotistical _**ferret**_."

"So that's the only way how I'm annoying? I'm egotistical?"

"Oh, no, believe me, there are way more."

"Oh yeah, how?"

"Oh, darling ferret, let me count the ways."

"You know, beaver," Draco interceded, "there are plenty of things that are annoying about you as well."

"At least I'm not egotistical!"

Draco snorted. "Oh please, tell me another one."

"Oh? And how am I egotistical? At least my head doesn't swell to the size of an overgrown watermelon every time I look in the mirror!"

"No, but your head _**does**_ swell to the size of a Quidditch goal post every time you perform a complicated spell, or outsmart us in something."

"You're exaggerating! My head does _**not**_ swell – "

Harry glanced over at Ginny. "Should we do it?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm getting sick and tired of listening to them bicker twenty-four-seven while we're stuck in the same tent as them."

They both got to their feet and grabbed Hermione and Draco by the hoods of their sweatshirts, pulling them up into a standing position.

"Hey!"

"Ouch!"

"What the – "

" – Hell do you – "

" – Think you're doing?" Hermione finished up their two-way exclamation.

Ginny looked at Harry. "Oh, how cute, they're already finishing each other's sentences!"

Harry smirked as he and Ginny began dragging Hermione and Draco towards the bathroom.

"I threatened to lock you guys in the bathroom a few days ago if you couldn't get along, remember? Well, I'm not one to break my promises, and Ginny wouldn't let me even if I was, so…Here you go!" and he and Ginny shoved Hermione and Draco right into the tiny, cramped room, and slammed the door in their faces. Hermione and Draco heard the telltale click of the lock.

"_**Muffliato**_!" Harry roared. "Good, now we can't hear them. So want to finish this game?"

"Sure. I'm so going to beat you."

"Are not!"

"Am too!"

"They are so _**ah-doe-ah-ble**_," Draco said sarcastically. "Especially the part where they locked me in the bathroom with _**you**_."

"Oh, like I'd really want to be locked in here with _**you**_," Hermione retorted.

"At least I'm not a bloody know-it-all!"

"At least I'm not an egotistical bully!"

"At least – oh bloody hell!" Draco had just tried to move past Hermione to get to the door in the hopes of blasting it open with his wand, but hadn't been able to squeeze in-between her and the sink, and had ended up stumbling and falling against her. Their faces were inches apart and his hands were on either side of her, pressed up against the wall.

"Ow! Get off me you stupid ferret!"

"Oh, so now we're back to name-calling are we? And here I thought we were both better than that."

"Since when?"

"Since I nearly got a concussion from not being able to get around both you _**and**_ the sink!"

"It's not my fault this bathroom is so effing small!"

"Did you hear me say 'this is all Hermione's fault, she's the reason why this bathroom is midget-size'? No! So quit overreacting about every stupid little thing!"

"Hey, it's not as if you're completely blameless! If you had turned down the music when I asked you to, we wouldn't be stuck in a bathroom so small that _**my cat**_ would be squashed in here!"

"Looks like he was already in here then," Draco commented coolly.

"AND WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

"Have you seen his face? It looks like he ran headlong into a brick wall."

"I – I – you – " She was so infuriated that all she could was splutter. "His face is beautiful!"

"Sure it is, considering he had a serious face injury."

"Oh, shut up!"

"Seriously? Seriously? Is that the best you got?"

"I – !"

"Yep, apparently it is." Draco managed to wrench himself off of Hermione and took a half step and pulled out his wand, tapping the door with it. Nothing happened.

Hermione was now breathing deeply, like in yoga…In…Out…In…and out…

Her temper under control, she decided it was time to get down to business. "So I say we try all of the usual unlocking spells, although I'm sure Harry has probably sealed the door nonverbally, he's gotten quite good at that."

Draco nodded, and abandoned their previous argument. Together they worked through all of the usual unlocking spells, such as "_**Alohomora**_!" but the door remained locked.

"Why don't we just break the blasted thing down?" Draco growled after they had just tried their eleventh spell.

"And who's going to fix it? Certainly not me!" Hermione retorted. "Anyway, it wouldn't surprise me – _**oh**_, _**go ahead**_."

Draco was shocked by this change of attitude, but never gave up the chance to blast things apart. "_**Confringo**_!" The spell collided with the door and…it flickered out, like a bad firework.

"_**Confringo**_!" he tried again. It fizzled and died.

"What in Merlin's pants is wrong with this thing?" he yelled, kicking the door with the toe of his sneaker.

"An anti-blasting curse. I don't know if it came with the tent, or if Harry put it on, or what, but either way we can't blast the door off its hinges."

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Draco snarled. "So what you're saying is we're stuck in here until Potter and Weasel-ette decide to let us back out!"

"So it's back to last names eh?" Hermione commented as she plopped down wearily on the toilet cover.

"THEY. LOCKED. US. IN. THE. BATHROOM!"

"Ohhhh, so now's it's us," Hermione said snarkily. "A few minutes ago it was _**I'm locked in the **__**bathroom with YOU **_and now it's _**they locked US in the bathroom**_. My God, make up your mind – are you mad about being locked in here with me, or are you mad at them for just plain locking you in?"

"BOTH!"

"Well don't fret, I'm sure eventually they'll get worried that we've killed each other – Harry's guilt or Ginny's loyalty will kick in sooner or later. In the mean time, let's just not talk."

"Fine with me," Draco replied coldly.

"Fine!"

"_**Fine**_!"

One-one-thousand…two-one-thousand…

"Why aren't we talking again?"

Hermione groaned and banged her forehead against her knees. "Because we have nothing good to say to each other! Haven't you ever heard the saying 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all'?"

"Nooo…"

"Oh. Well it must be a strictly muggle saying then."

One-one-thousand…Two-one –

"This is all your fault you know."

Hermione resumed her head banging.

"I mean, if you hadn't gotten on me about my music – "

"If you hadn't been blasting it so loudly that no one could hear themselves think – "

"Harry and Ginny didn't seem to mind! Just you! It's always you, isn't it? You know what your problem is Granger? You're too uptight. You're so determined that everything has to be this way or that. Can't you just relax and have fun for once in your life?"

"I have! But…I'm not a relaxed person, I've never been. I've always had too much to do."

"Too much homework you mean," Draco quipped.

"Well…yes…"

"Have you always been like that?"

"Always. I was always strongly competitive. I always had to be the best in the class, and if I wasn't…Well, that just wouldn't do."

"Ah, but were you happy?"

Hermione frowned, puzzling this over. That was a good question, not something that anyone had ever asked her before.

"I suppose so…I was a national spelling champion by the time I was ten, and that same year I was on a math team that won first place in our county. But…I didn't really have any friends, I was too busy being Miss Perfect, no one wanted to go near me. I got teased and bullied, and it was awful! I had no one to help me, or stand up for me, except myself, and I obviously wasn't very good at that. I got called a know-it-all because of my extracurricular activities, and a freak because I could do stuff that no one else could…magic stuff." She paused.

"When I got my letter, telling me I was a witch, I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Finally! I knew I wasn't a freak, just someone with an extraordinary gift! And maybe, just maybe, I could make friends at Hogwarts. But of course, in the beginning I let being the best get in the way.

"It wasn't until Halloween of our first year that I got a reality check. It was after we learned how to levitate feathers, and I had gotten partnered with Ron Weasley. I, of course, had performed the spell perfectly on my first try. Ron, on the other hand…As I was passing by him and Harry on the way to our next class, I overheard Ron saying '_**It's no wonder no one can stand her…She's a nightmare, honestly**_.' [A/N: Taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, American Edition, Chapter Ten, pg 172]. I ended up huddled in the bathroom, crying, because I knew he was right. Who would ever want to be my friend? The only thing I was good for was schoolwork.

"And then Quirrell let the troll in, and it wandered into the bathroom, and Harry and Ron saved my life."

"And from then on you guys were the _**Golden Trio**_." Draco sneered the name.

"I – well – yes – I suppose we were. But obviously now we're not really the 'Golden Trio' – " she held her fingers up in quotation marks – "anymore, what with Ron being a werewolf and Harry and I on the run with you and Ginny."

"No," Draco said slowly, "I suppose you're not."

There was silence, and then…

"I suppose maybe I could keep the music down a bit," Draco relented.

A smile twitched at the corner of Hermione's mouth. "And I suppose I could be a bit more relaxed."

Draco smirked. "Just don't go turning into a party animal, I want to be able to recognize you when I see your face." He paused, and then began singing: "'_**When I see your face/There's not a thing **__**that I would change/Cuz girl you're amazing/Just the way you are'**_!" [Bruno Mars 'Just the Way You Are'].

Hermione giggled. "Draco, you're crazy!"

"Yes, but if I was sane then we would be bored out of our freaking minds. At least this way we have some entertainment! Altogether now, boys and girls: "_**'When**_ _**I see your face'**_ – hey, watch the hair!" Hermione had wracked him with a towel.

"What is it with you and your obsession with your hair?"

Draco ran his fingers through his hair and struck a pose as best he could in the little space he had. "When you've got hair like this – " he ran his hand over his hair as if he was advertising it – "you've got to have an obsession with it. Otherwise you're just not human."

"Once again Draco – you're crazy!"

This was how Harry and Ginny found them when they finally unlocked the bathroom door an hour later: Laughing uproariously and teasing each other.

"You guys can come out now," Harry called to them over their laughter.

Hermione and Draco stopped just long enough to look at him. "No, thanks, we're good," Draco said, waving his hand airily.

Harry nodded and closed the door behind him.

Ginny smirked. "You know, they'll never admit it, not in a million years, but they like each other."

Harry grinned. "You know something Gin, I think you're right."

* * *

**_So what did you guys think? Someone reviewed and said they were hoping that Harry would in fact lock Hermione and Draco in the bathroom, so thank you! :) So lots of bickering in this chapter, and a tiny bit of Dramione. So you guys think Ginny and Harry are right, that they do in fact like each other, even if they won't admit it?_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	17. Chapter 17

**_I'm so sorry that it took me over a week to get this chapter up! I had a mild case of writer's block, and I've also been super busy what with the Christmas holiday, but I finally had a break through and I've been working on this chapter off and on all day, and I finally finished it! It's not as long as I would have liked, but I think it'll be okay ;)_**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling, because otherwise I would probably be rolling in money and not spending my free time writing fanfiction. Oh, plus I'm not sure I'd have any free time. :)_**

**_Ginnyx34ever: Thank you so much! I loved writing the scene in the bathroom, I think that's one of my favorites so far, so I'm happy you liked it :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you very much! Haha, I think Harry and Ginny really did know what they were doing :) Nope, I would never be that mean to make everyone wait a million years for that. I actually like Ron with Hermione, but I'm completely hooked on Dramione, and I think it's more fun to write and read. Yeah, with those two we never know where they'll be next. Sometimes they're the best of friends and other times they're the worst of enemies. Thanks! :)_**

**_Linx: Thank you! Well, you never know..._**

**_The Scratch Man: Thank you very much! Haha, that's hilarious! I had had that song stuck in my head and I thought it'd be funny if Draco just suddenly began singing it. :)_**

**_Torch-SherlockWho-Wood: Thank you for reviewing! Haha, they're not very subtle, are they? :)_**

**_OBLuvr13: Thank you! I loved writing that part, so it's always nice to know that people enjoyed it! :)_**

**_Midnightstar4ever: Thank you so much! It was so much fun writing that, so I'm glad you liked it! :)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! I'm glad you liked that line! :)_**

**_And of course, thank you so very much to everyone who clicked on the favorite or story alert buttons! Aaaannnndddd...Thank you so much to everyone who favorited, story alerted, author alerted, and reviewed after reading "Qudditch Love", my Harry/Ginny (with a little bit of Ron/Hermione) one-shot! :)_**

**_Every single person who's taken the time to read either story is fantastic, and I really appreciate it! I love you guys! :)_**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen – Positive Thinking and All That

The next morning, halfway through breakfast, Harry began choking and spat out his half eaten toast.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, startled. "Is it dry or something?"

"No – I just remembered – " he gulped down half of his tea " – we need to report back to the Order, this is the eighth day, we should have done it yesterday!"

Hermione nodded in agreement as she spread a thin layer of butter over her bread.

"So we should do it today – after breakfast I suppose?"

"Yes, and explain that we lost track of the days."

"So who's house are we going to?" Draco cut in.

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all exchanged glances.

"Lupin's…?" Ginny suggested slowly.

"Yeah, that might work."

So after breakfast, they packed up the tent, ducked under the invisibility cloak, gripped hands, and apparated to a small flat in London. They landed – and stumbled a bit at the impact – in front of a white door with _**D-8**_ on the front in thick black numbers.

Glancing around to make sure that no one was coming in or out of any of the apartments, Harry slipped out from under the cloak, followed by the others, and banged loudly on the door.

"Just a second!" came a familiar woman's voice, and a moment later, Nymphadora Tonks had thrown the door open, and grinned. "About time we heard from you four. Get your asses in here – oh, wait – security questions!" She paused, obviously thinking up some really good ones. "All right, how about this: Ginny, what charm did your mother put on the door at headquarters to make sure you lot couldn't hear anything, and what did you use before she wised up?"

Ginny made a face. "Mum put an _**imperturbable**_ charm on the door, and we used extendable ears to listen in on the conversations."

Tonks nodded. "All right you lot, come on in." She stood back to let them file in. Catching sight of the bulge in Draco's jeans pocket, she said, "Why Mr. Pureblood, is that a cell phone I'm seeing?"

"Don't worry, I haven't completely gone round the bend," Draco quipped back. "It's operated with magic."

"Tonks, honey, who is it?" came Lupin's voice from one of the backrooms.

"Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco," she called back.

"Did you ask them a security question?"

"No, I just let them in out of the good of my heart because they don't look like death eaters," Tonks retorted sarcastically.

"Oh, good," Lupin said, sounding relieved as he walked out into the sitting room, holding a sleeping Teddy.

"Hey guys." He paused. "You are all more than welcome here – the couches won't bite, you know," he added, smiling.

So they all sat down into thick, overstuffed loveseats. Harry and Ginny were on the couch nearest the door, and Hermione and Draco (how did that happen?) on the one against the wall. Tonks sank down onto the thickly carpeted floor and Lupin handed their son to her. He turned to place a log into the already crackling fire across from the couch where Ginny and Harry were sitting, before getting settled beside Tonks and Teddy.

"So," Lupin said mildly, "it sounds like you four have been busy."

They all looked at him blankly.

"What – you don't think the Order doesn't have some idea of the comings and goings of the death eaters? I assure you, we are very well informed. And that, my dears, is why we know about your rather hasty flight from Little Hangleton."

"In our defense," Harry began, "we didn't realize that they could trace overage magic. If we had we wouldn't have apparated so close to the town, nor would Ginny and I have apparated to the graveyard or broken into the Riddle house, or – "

Lupin held up his hand. "I'm not blaming you, any of you. I know it was a mistake, and you all escaped alive and well, and most of the muggles survived as well, although their memories have been wiped of that particular incident – they believe it was a terrorist attack, which, I suppose in some ways, it was."

"Remus?" Hermione spoke up in a small voice. "How many muggles did get killed?"

Lupin turned to look at her and his face softened. "Three. One policeman, and two criminals."

Hermione groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Then it's our fault they died, isn't it?" she asked. "If we hadn't gone there, they would still be alive."

"Not necessarily Hermione," Tonks said soothingly. "Those two death eaters had been watching Little Hangleton for the past few weeks, it was just a matter of time before something like this happened. I'm sure you four managed to save lives, no matter what you think."

Draco nodded in agreement, and a little awkwardly put his arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah Hermione. She's right. The death eaters will do anything to anybody as long as it means they themselves don't get hurt. They don't give a damn about anything. They were probably planning an attack on the muggles, and we just happened to be there. We were able to protect them. Hermione," he said a little more urgently, and slipped two fingers under her chin, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes were wet and tears were streaking down her cheeks.

"No matter what we did, they would have killed those muggles. 'Magic is Might', remember? Just like 'For the Greater Good'. To them the ends justify the means, and if they manage to kill off an entire race, all the better. That's just how they think, and you beating yourself up over it isn't going to change anything."

Hermione sniffed but nodded. Tonks whipped a handkerchief out of thin air with her wand and handed the cloth to Hermione. "He's right Hermione. Those death eaters are evil, remember? Nothing you did was wrong. This is war. As much as it sucks, people die. Innocent bystanders are killed in the crossfire. And the only damn thing we can do about it is try to protect those bystanders as much as possible and try to take out the enemy as soon as we can manage it."

Hermione wiped her eyes on the handkerchief and blew her nose. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. I just – it's different when you're there, I suppose."

Lupin nodded. "I expect it is."

He paused, and his eyes widened. Draco's arm was still around Hermione. He caught Draco's eye, and Draco immediately pulled his arm back.

Harry nodded towards the fire. "This is a flat."

"Yeah," Tonks said, sounding a bit confused.

"So why do you guys have a fire going? Don't you tend to need a chimney for that?"

"Well, you see," Lupin began, shifting a bit on the floor, "it was an electric fire, but Tonks and I had no idea how to use it. So we asked Arthur to come and take a look at it, to see if he knew how to get it to work, and, ummmm…"

"It went BOOM," Tonks explained simply.

Ginny shook her head. "That'll teach you not to ask my dad for help next time."

"So anyway," Lupin continued, "we just performed a couple of transfiguration spells and voila, we managed to come up with a working fireplace."

"Nice," Hermione said with an appreciative smile.

"Thanks," Lupin replied. "So anyway, tell us – what else have you guys been up to?"

"Well," Ginny began with an evil grin, "Harry and I locked Hermione and Draco in the bathroom yesterday…"

"YOU DID _**WHAT**_?"

After catching up with Lupin and Tonks, and eating their fill of sandwiches and homemade soup, the four teenagers got up to leave.

"Thanks for the food," Hermione said, hugging Tonks.

"You're welcome Hermione. Is there anything I can get you? We have plenty of, well, everything."

Hermione laughed. "No, we're good, but thanks."

Harry shook Lupin's hand, and said quietly, as if to prevent the others from hearing, although to no avail, "How's Ron doing?"

Lupin pressed his lips together in a thin smile. "He's doing a bit better. He's staying in the werewolf community for the most part, but when we can risk it, I bring him back here. He hasn't been back to your house – " he nodded at Ginny to indicate the Burrow – "since the night he…" He cleared his throat and averted his eyes from Hermione. She stared stonily at him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can say it Remus," she said coolly. "Since the night he attacked Hermione. Right?"

"Er, well, yes, yes, that's right."

"Stop trying to baby her Remus," Tonks said, throwing a loving arm around her husband. "She's eighteen, a legal adult in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, and she hasn't committed suicide since it happened, so I'd say she's dealing pretty well."

Lupin shuffled his feet. "Of course," he said softly and a little sheepishly, "you're right. Hermione, please accept my apology, I wasn't thinking straight." He gazed around at her, Harry, Ginny, and Draco. "Sometimes I still see you all as the scared students on the Hogwarts Express when the dementors came aboard."

Harry shifted embarrassedly, no doubt remembering how he had passed out when the dementor had entered his, Hermione's, Ron's, Ginny's, and Neville Longbottom's compartment.

Hermione smiled. "Wow, now we're all adults and fighting against the Chief Death Eater. It feels like it was just yesterday when we first met."

Lupin returned her smile, and reached over to embrace her.

They left soon after that, and chose the side of a grassy hill to camp.

After dinner, Hermione and Draco volunteered for first watch, and they settled down side by side in the grass, gazing up at the darkening sky.

"Can I ask you something?" Draco asked, a little hesitantly. It hadn't even been until today that this thought had occurred to him, but now for some strange reason it was eating at him, even though he had been trying to tell himself it didn't matter, that he shouldn't care.

"I suppose," Hermione replied a little warily. "What is it?"

"I – I was just wondering…How did you and Weasel get together?"

Hermione brought her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"It wasn't that long ago actually, although now it feels like forever. After – after we escaped from your house, we went to Ron's older brother's place. Ron carried me in – I was half conscious – and he refused to let Fleur touch me, saying he would do it himself. While he was trying to take care of the knife wound in my neck, he was crying, and telling me he loved me, and it was – " she swallowed – "it was really sweet."

Draco nodded, drawing in a deep breath and slowly letting it out.

"I'm sorry this happened to you two," he said sincerely. "This should never be happening, you two should be together."

As he said it, he felt as though someone had just slammed a fist into his stomach.

Hermione turned her head to look at him. Her large brown eyes reflected the golden light of the stars, and Draco found that he couldn't look away…

"None of this should have ever happened," Hermione told him. "We should have just finished up our final year at Hogwarts. We should be moving on with our lives, on to our jobs. Harry and Ginny would be trying to see each other on the weekends, and she would be the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Harry and Ron would probably have a flat somewhere, and who knows where I would be? Maybe I would be living with them, maybe not." She paused, and laid her cheek against her knees. "And you. What would you be doing?"

"Not this," Draco joked. "I dunno. Mother would probably be trying to arrange a marriage between me and some nice, respectable, boring pureblood girl. Back in my fifth year, she often talked about me marrying Pansy Parkinson, or one of the Greengrass girls. I don't know though. I'm not so sure that's what I want anymore."

"Is that ever what you wanted?"

Draco stared at her, and realized that that question had never even crossed his mind. "I – I don't know. No, I don't think so. I always just went along with everything because that's what was expected of me."

Hermione gazed unblinkingly at him. "I think I know what you mean. But quite honestly, I'm also not so sure I understand. Maybe it's because of who my best friends are, or who I am, or how I was raised. Why didn't you ever fight back or argue or anything?"

"Hermione," Draco heard himself say a bit desperately, "you have to understand – this is _**tradition**_. These ways may have died out with most people, but never with the _**self-respecting **_purebloods. I was taught from the cradle that muggle-borns and muggles are alike – they're terrible and dangerous and uneducated and barbaric. And my parents never knew any different because that's exactly how they were raised as well. Everyone said that something must have gone wrong in Andromeda Tonks' mind, because she married a muggle-born, but now I'm beginning to wonder if she didn't have the right idea."

"It can't be easy, being taught one culture and then being thrown into another," Hermione commented gently. "It was hard enough making the transition between one world and another, but for you…You haven't even gotten the chance to adjust. Your parents got killed, you're on the run, everything seems to just be crashing down around you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice cracking a bit. "Yeah it does."

Hermione reached over and hugged him tightly. He buried his face in her hair, and closed his eyes. Somehow…Somehow this felt right. He tightened his grip on her as she began to pull back, and in that instant he realized he didn't want to ever let her go.

"It'll be okay," she whispered to him. "Everything will turn out for the best."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can't be. But I have to believe it's true."

He finally let go of her. "Positive thinking and all that, right?"

Hermione smiled at him. "Right." She hesitated, and then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going in to get some hot chocolate. Do you want anything?"

He shook his head, his mind still whirling from the moment when her lips had touched his screen. He watched as she stood up and walked back into the tent. He could hear the soft murmur of Hermione's, Harry's, and Ginny's voices.

Subconsciously, he reached his fingers up to his cheek. It burned and tingled. And it was in that one life-altering, mind-jarring, heart-thumping instant that he realized he was falling in love with her.

* * *

**_So how's that for a cliff-hanger? I know, I know, it's probably really sudden, but I just couldn't think what else I could do with it, plus I felt like I was stretching the whole "I can't possibly like her" thing a bit too thin, so I've gone for a different angle ;) Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter! Let me know what you think, because I love hearing from you guys! :)_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	18. Chapter 18

**_Chapter Seventeen! Whoo! This one's a bit longer than the last one was - 3,325 words, respectively - and there's a lot of ups and downs in it. I spent the last few hours working on it, because tomorrow classes begin again, and I wanted to get this chapter out of me, because otherwise it would drive me crazy. I had originally planned for something a little different, but while writing this chapter, things changed a bit. In other words, the story took over, and the chapter decided to write itself. But it's always so much easier when it does that, and it always ends up so much more interesting!_**

**_Disclaimer: I'm still not J.K Rowling, because if I was, I would be having way too much fun being her. So nope, I'm not her :)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you so much! I was hoping I could get Lupin down okay, I was writing him how I remembered him from the books. Thanks, I didn't want Hermione to seem to fragile, but I thought it would be natural for her to be upset about people being killed by the death eaters when they were after her and the others :)_**

**_Ks21178: Thank very much! I try to keep things even, but I think occasionally I tip the balance a bit. Haha, I loved writing Draco's experiences with technology, so I'm really glad you like it :)_**

**_xxScarlettRavenlnkxx: Thank you! Yeah, I probably should have given a little more time to the whole idea of Ron being bitten. Well, if I rewrite this story, I will definitely do that, so thank you for your suggestion! :)_**

**_.17: Thank you! :)_**

**_The Scratch Man: Thank you for your review! No, I'm not overly fond of the last chapter, but I wanted to get it written because I hadn't updated for more than a week, which for me is a long time. I don't really have Tonks' character down yet, but I'll work on it :) I've always seen Lupin as being very formal, even though his best friends were James Potter and Sirius Black. Maybe I should relax him a little bit though...? Ah, the "Chief Death Eater" name...In the "Deathly Hallows", while Potterwatch (the Order of the Phoenix's radio show) was on, that's what Voldemort was called, because a tracking spell had been placed on his name :) And in this story, the taboo is still on his name, so that's what they call him, because they don't want to revert back to "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named". :)_**

**_midnightstar4ever: Thank you! I know, it was kind of nice to finally let some sense seep into Draco :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you so much! Haha, well, that's sort of my goal, to send you all to the dentist after reading all the sweetness between Draco and Hermione ;) Thanks, I couldn't imagine writing a Dramione without any denial. I'm glad you like it! :)_**

**_And of course, thank you so much to all the fantastic people who favorited and story alerted this story! You guys are absolutely amazing! :)_**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen - Confusion, Heartache, Fighting, and Love

_**The sun was beating down on the Hogwarts castle as Draco flew through the air on his broom. **__**It was the first Quidditch match of the season, the annual Gryffindor versus **_

_**Slytherin. Ever since Harry **__**Potter had joined the team, Slytherin had lost at the hands of the Gryffindor, but not this time. He **__**was going to catch the snitch and win the game for Slytherin, he would make sure of it!**_

_**But as he was looking around, scoping out the scene for anything resembling the small, round, **__**golden ball, he spotted none other than Hermione Granger in the stands. She beckoned to him, and **__**completely abandoning the search for the snitch, he flew in her direction.**_

_**"Hey!" Captain Marcus Flint – who hadn't been the captain since his fifth year, so what on **__**earth was he doing there? – shouted from somewhere near the Slytherin goal posts on the opposite **__**side of the field – man, his voice really carried – "Malfoy! Where the hell d'you think you're going?"**_

_**But Draco ignored him. He just wanted to get to Hermione.**_

_**He dodged the Gryffindor team, one by one, and rolled over in midair to avoid both bludgers **__**aimed at him by the Weasley twins. What the hell? They had left in his fifth year as well! What was **__**going on here? Wasn't he supposed to be past that? In his seventh year? Actually, now that he **__**thought about it, he couldn't really remember. Oddly enough, this didn't concern him too much, he **__**was too focused on the girl who he was flying towards.**_

_**He finally reached Hermione, and halted in front of her, hovering in midair, not even six inches **__**away from her.**_

_**Hermione tilted her head to the side and smiled with genuine sweetness at him. Draco wished **__**he could get her to smile like this more often – everything in the background – the Quidditch match, **__**Flint's yelling, the whishing of the players on their brooms – faded out, so that it was just the two of **__**them.**_

_**She opened her mouth, and her lips shaped words but he didn't hear anything – all he could **__**make out was the roar of the crowd, although even that sounded as if he was a great distance away **__**from the hundreds of Hogwarts students all packed into the stadium.**_

_**"What?" he asked. "Sorry – I can't hear you."**_

_**She mouthed the same words, but he still couldn't tell what she was saying.**_

_**"Hermione, maybe you could write it down? I can't – "**_

_**And then she grabbed him and kissed him, nearly hauling him straight off his broomstick. **_

_**"I **__**love you too," she whispered once they had broken apart, and he felt as if he was floating on air. Who **__**needed a Nimbus 2001 when he had Hermione Granger?**_

_**"Hey – loser!" Ron Weasley suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding a quaffle and one of **__**the beater's bats. In the background, George Weasley – the present George Weasley, with the missing **__**ear – was frowning and staring at where his hands were clenched around thin air, as if sure there had **__**been a bat there before. A chorus of "Weasley Is Our King", Gryffindor style, began, and Hermione **__**turned from Draco to peer up at the Weasel, her hand shading her eyes against the bright sun. **_

_**"That's **__**my girlfriend you're kissing!" and he slammed the quaffle at Draco with the bat. It hit him in the **__**stomach, sending him whirling from the broom and spiraling down towards the ground…But as he fell **__**he managed to still look up, and what he saw made him feel a hundred times worse than a ball to the **__**stomach any day: Hermione had grabbed the front of the Weasel's Quidditch robes and was dragging **__**him to her, smacking her lips against his…BAM…**_

…BAM! Draco landed on the floor of the tent with a hard thump. He opened his eyes. Quite unlike his dream, it was pouring rain, and the early morning light that filtered in through the canvas walls was gray.

"Draco?" Harry groaned sleepily. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, go back to sleep," Draco assured him quickly, before taking his situation into account.

He was lying flat on the floor with his legs tangled in the blankets from his bed. He must've been thrashing quite a bit for the blankets – which had been tucked in under the mattress – to fall straight off the bed with him.

He sat up gingerly, but could feel no pain in his abdomen. Apparently the quaffle hitting him in the stomach had been just a dream pain, thank goodness. But there was a tightening in his muscles that wasn't from any physical pain, imagine or real. He couldn't get the sight of Hermione kissing Ron out of his mind. Just that thought made him want to rush to the bathroom and vomit his liver out.

With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet, and gathering his blankets around him, crawled back into bed. But as much as he tossed and turned, he could not go back to sleep. The mental image of Hermione snogging the Weasel-Wolf was still too vivid and too real for him to relax. Finally he shoved the covers off of his body and padded out to the bathroom. As he brushed his teeth, he contemplated the situation.

What really drove him crazy was that he knew she had in fact kissed the red-headed idiot. Hadn't she as good as admitted it to him the night before? And hadn't she said how sweet it had been? And it truly sounded sweet…Sickeningly sweet, like an overly sugared birthday cake.

_**He would do things for her that I wouldn't even dream of**_, he thought sadly as he rinsed his mouth out. _**He would make sacrifices for her that I never would, would go to great lengths to save her **__**when I'm so worried about my own skin that I can't see past my problems. He loved her. And she **__**loved him. And after experiencing that with him, why on earth would she ever look twice at me? We **__**drive each other up the wall, we can't get along to save our lives, so why would she go from her best **__**friend to her sworn enemy? I mean, okay, it's not like he's really her best friend anymore, and I'm no **__**longer her sworn enemy, but still. Our pasts and personalities clash too much. It will never work. **__**She'll never love me like she loved him.**_

He felt the familiar tightening in his throat, and he closed his eyes against the tears that were now brushing at his eyelids. He swallowed a few times and thought happy thoughts…Sunshine…The Quidditch World Cup…Potions class with Snape…Once he thought he might have his emotions under control, he opened his eyes and looked up at his reflection in the mirror over the sink.

Despite the fact that he was tousle-haired and had dark shadows under his eyes, and a haunted look to his face, gray and ghastly, that had not been there three years ago – the same look that Harry carried around him, the look of someone who had seen unspeakable horrors and had had the same or similar unspeakable horrors happen to them – all he could see was the haughty, sleek-haired, pureblood maniac that he had been for most of his time at Hogwarts. All that was in front of him was his fifteen year old self, smirking as he tossed Harry's wand up in the air while he watched Umbridge threaten Harry with the Cruciatus curse, as Hermione pretended to cry and give herself up to the evil teacher so that her best friend wouldn't be tortured.

_**She'll never want me**_.

And the tears came. Stuffing his fist in his mouth, he nonverbally cast the silencing charm around the bathroom, and cried to his hearts' content. All the pain that he had buried deep for so long flooded out of him. He had been nothing but an obnoxious bully for so much of his childhood and teenage years, and now it was coming back to haunt him.

_**Maybe I deserve this**_, he thought bitterly. _**Maybe I had it**_ _**coming to me**_.

His conflicted thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. "Draco? You in there?"

It was Harry.

"Er – yeah – just give me a second – " His voice was hoarse and cracking, but surely Harry wasn't _**that**_ observant. On the other hand, he _**was**_ friends with Hermione…

The door banged open, and Draco spun to find Harry standing there with his wand outstretched.

"What is it with you and crying in bathrooms?" Harry demanded as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"What is it with you and barging in on people in bathrooms?" Draco retorted angrily, trying to wipe the tear tracks off of his face.

"It's a hobby," Harry replied cheerfully before sobering up a bit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Draco chewed on his lower lip. He did, but at the same time, he didn't. Still, it wasn't like he could talk to Hermione about this, and he had a feeling Ginny would probably hex him if she found out he had – _**strong feelings**_ – for her best friend, who had been tormented at his hand for so long. Harry was the only one who would probably hear him out and _**not**_ try to curse him at the same time.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly. "But not in here."

So they headed outside after casting _**Muffliato**_ on the girls so that they wouldn't hear their conversation.

"So what's going on?" Harry asked as they settled down on the ground.

"Have you ever wished you could take back a huge chunk of your life – like, say, six or seven years of it?"

"Er…well…no…But I've wished there are moments I could redo. Why?"

"Let's just say my Hogwarts years are finally catching up with me," Draco muttered. "It seems that with my spending so much time with you three goody-goody Gryffindors, my point of view is changing, as is…other things…"

Harry looked around at the meadow they had camped in the night before. The rain had stopped, and the sun was beginning to creep out from behind the clouds.

"Well, you've gone through a major change," he said slowly. "How is your point of view changing?"

"I just – I'm – I believe in muggle rights now, okay? Maybe it's just spending so much time with Hermione, but I've finally realized that muggle-borns aren't as stupid or incompetent or third class as I was taught to believe."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, living with Hermione will do that to you." He paused. "So what were the other things?"

"Oh – nothing."

Harry snorted. "Oh please. I might not be as observant or in tune to other people's emotions as Hermione is, but I'm not a total idiot. And right now there's something you don't want to tell me. So spill: What is it?"

"Look, does it really matter?"

"Yeah, it does. I hate to pull this card, but it might be something that'll impair us in the middle of a battle, and we can't have that. We're already in enough danger with Voldemort on our tails as it is. So what is it? That way we can warn the girls if we need to."

"Oh, um, it's not that bad or anything. Nothing to worry about. I mean, it's not a big deal – oh – _**look**_! _**Death eaters**_! _**Stupefy**_!"

Sure enough, death eaters were appearing out of nowhere. At Draco's curse, one of them fell face down on the ground, but the others began to fire spells in the two boys' direction.

"Damn it," Harry swore. He had said Voldemort's name. "_**Petrificus Totalus**_!" It was a beautiful shot. Another one of the hooded attackers went rigid and dropped flat to the ground.

"What is going on out here?" Hermione's scared squeal erupted from inside the tent. Apparently when the defensive spells on the tent had disappeared, the _**Muffliato**_ spell had vanished as well. Hermione and Ginny emerged from the tent, their nightgown sleeves rolled up and wands out, ready for battle.

"_**Incarcerous**_!" Hermione screamed, pointing her wand at the nearest death eater. Immediately ropes shot out of the end of her wand and wrapped themselves around the assailant, binding him tightly so that he could not move.

As another one of the death eaters opened his mouth to shoot a curse at Hermione, Draco cried, "_**Langlock**_!", gluing the death eater's tongue to the top of his mouth so that he couldn't speak.

"_**Obscuro**_!" And a black blindfold appeared over the dumb death eater's mouth as well. As the death eater clawed at his eyes and attempted to mumble out words, Draco clapped his hands together and barked out a laugh, before turning to the next death eater. He figured he might as well have fun with the people who served the man who had killed his parents.

He turned to find several more death eaters advancing on him. Using his Quidditch reflexes, he dodged the curses they threw at him as best as he could, although he still managed to get hit with a gashing curse in the arm that he supposed had been aimed for his chest. He whirled away from _**Sectumsempra**_, and rolled out of the way of _**Avada Kedavra**_.

Meanwhile, the others were struggling, fighting two or three at once. They were easily outnumbered, and were losing. Badly.

"Oh for heaven's sake!" one of the death eaters roared. "I say we just grab Potter and let the others burn – !" he yelled something, and with a sudden wave of heat and a flash or orange, like lightning, the entire meadow erupted into flames.

"You idiot!" another death eater screamed at him. "You were supposed to grab Potter before burning the meadow! The Dark Lord wants to kill him himself! Let's get out of here!" and one by one, they apparated out.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. She grabbed Harry and Ginny by their arms and dragged them back out of the way of the fire, with Draco backing up as well, keeping pace with them. "We need to shield the tent, so that we can pack up and get out of here! On the count of three! One – two – _**three**_!"

"_**PROTEGO**_!" Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all yelled at once, and immediately the burning heat of the fire receded down to a gentle warmth.

"Come on," Hermione said, summoning her beaded bag from inside, and then performing a collapsing spell on the tent. "The shield charm won't hold for very long, the fire is too strong. Let's get out of here."

With Harry's help, she managed to push the tent into her bag and with one last look at the burning meadow, they grasped hands and spun on the spot.

They arrived on the edge of a deserted beach, with enough distance from them and the sand to avoid the high tide. Wordlessly they erected the tent and set up the defensive spells around it. It wasn't until they had all collapsed on the floor in the tent when Ginny looked at the two boys.

"So what happened? Why did the death eaters attack us?"

"I said the Chief Death Eater's name," Harry moaned, head in his hands. "It's taboo, remember? And I completely forgot."

Ginny moved over so that she could hug him. "It's okay. We got out of there safely, and that's what's important. You got so used to saying it that you're bound to forget sometimes. It's not your fault, Harry…"

"Come on," Hermione said to Draco, and grasped his hand, tugging him out of the tent.

"What?" he asked.

"I think we need to give them some privacy, let them have their sweet and tender moment. When they're done, they'll call us back in. Oh my – !"

Draco looked down to where her eyes were: Blood was still gushing out of his arm. In the heat of the battle and the fire, he had completely blanked out about it.

"Oh, yeah, I got hit by a gashing curse."

"You should have said something!" Hermione cried. "I have essence of dittany in my bag – hold on – " and she began rummaging around in it, finally using a summoning charm to get the tiny bottle out. She uncorked it and shook a couple of drops out onto Draco's wound. Instantly the cut began to close up, and the blood vanished, so that a light, newly-healed scar appeared.

"There," she said, very obviously shaken. "How does your arm feel?"

"Much better, thanks."

She smiled weakly at him. "Good. Any other injuries that I need to take care of?"

"No, I think I'm good."

"Okay." Hermione dropped down into the grass exhaustedly, as if her legs refused to hold her up any longer.

Draco sank down beside her. They were on a low hill that sloped down towards the beach, giving them a magnificent view of the sea. He could see the white waves crashing onto the beach, and the sun shimmering down on the water. The loud roar of the ocean was oddly peaceful, after the chaos and terror of the fight. He laid down, hands under his head like a pillow, face turned up to the sun, and eyes closed against the glare.

"Draco?"

"Mmm?" He pictured her sitting there, running her hands through the grass, and gazing stead-fastedly down at the ground. He could tell by her tone of voice that she was worried that she might be approaching a taboo topic.

"Why were you and Harry outside? Ginny and I couldn't hear anything, and then suddenly, there were shouts and stuff. Did one of you cast _**Muffliato**_ or _**Silencio**_ or something?" She sounded as if she was worried that he and Harry had been discussing some topic that was only privy to guys, and that she was intruding, but was too curious about the spells not to ask.

Draco tried not to shift or look too guilty. "We cast _**Muffliato**_," he began, now working on keeping the nervousness out of his voice. "We were both up early and didn't want to wake you and Ginny up."

"Oh. Were you guys talking about anything interesting?"

"No, not really." He opened his eyes and saw her sitting cross-legged beside him, twirling a long piece of grass around one finger. Her hair seemed to glow gold in the sunlight, and he wished he could touch it, if just for a moment.

"Are you okay?" she asked, darting her eyes in his direction. "Maybe it's just my imagination, but you seemed a bit out of it last night, and you still do."

"I'm just tired," he assured her.

"Yeah, I suppose spending so much time with our little band of misfits and freaks could be wearing," she replied teasingly.

"You have no idea," he said with a grin as he laid back down and once more closed his eyes.

He felt her lie down beside him and could hear her soft breathing. He was aware of her hesitating, but a split-second later she moved her hand so that it was on top of his. He laced his fingers through hers, and together, side by side, with the sun beating down on their faces, and the ocean crashing into the shore just yards away from them, they fell asleep, both feeling safe and content.

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think of this chapter? I had originally planned on having Draco spill his feelings about Hermione to Harry, but instead I decided to put in a death eater attack, get some action in there :) Hopefully that helped to make things a little bit more interesting! So what're your feelings about Draco? Am I making him too nice? I wanted to have him insult someone in this chapter, but I just couldn't find a good place for it. Also, what are your thoughts on Draco's narrative? In the beginning, I had planned on writing the story mainly from Hermione's point of view, but I love writing from Draco's perspective way too much. I'll try to put in some scenes from Hermione's angle soon :)_**

**_Anyway, let me know what you all think, because I love hearing from you guys!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**

**_P.S Happy New Years everyone! How's 2011 going for you guys? :)_**


	19. Chapter 19

**_Wow - two chapters in three days! So, this chapter is a little shorter, and it's pretty much all filler, but its from Hermione's point of view, which I'm hoping will make you guys happy. Besides, I kind of missed writing from her perspective. :)_**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling. If I was, would I seriously be spending my time writing Dramione fanfiction?_**

**_Loslote: Thank you very much! I'm really glad you like Draco :)_**

**_delilah call: Thank you so much, and Happy New Years to you as well! I really hope you like this chapter, since it's from Hermione's perspective and it shows what's going through her mind :)_**

**_Torch-SherlockWho-Wood: Thank you! I'm glad to hear your year's going good; mine's going pretty well too...I'm really happy you liked the death eater attack and the ending! I'll definitely do that :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you! I think you're right about Draco's upbringing, he was raised to be a total pureblood brat, but if he had been raised more like - say - the Weasleys - he and Hermione might have gotten along much better earlier. Thanks, although I'm sorry to disappoint you - the death eater attack was just a last minute plot twist, I hadn't originally planned on incorporating it into that particular chapter. Haha, I know, the death eaters are fantastic at ruining moments that otherwise would have been spentacular. You're right, Hermione and Ron's romance was pretty short, so they never got a chance to really settle into their relationship, and Draco probably wouldn't want Hermione to care about him the same she cared for "The Weasel" ;) Thanks, take care too! I'll try to! :)_**

**_And of course, thank to everyone who's favorited and story alerted this story! You guys are awesome!_**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen – Beach Fun

Hermione awoke to the sound of the waves tumbling onto the beach, and the breeze on her face. She knew at once where she was: On the edge of the beach, in the grass, lying right beside Draco.

Their fingers were still intertwined, and his breathing was soft and gentle – he was obviously still asleep.

She opened her eyes and pushed herself into a sitting position. She was sore from the fight and from sleeping on the hard ground, but quite honestly, she didn't give a damn about any of it. She was just happy they had once more managed to make an escape from the death eaters, albeit a narrow one.

She heard Draco shift a little in his sleep, and turned her head to look over at him. He looked so peaceful while asleep, so unlike when he was wide awake. He looked almost…_**sweet**_…A lock of blond hair was hanging down over his forehead, and he was mumbling a bit, but she couldn't make out anything coherent.

He was confusing. That was just the best way to describe it. For weeks he had been moody and sarcastic and just plain Malfoy-ish, but it was as if something had changed in the last couple of days. He was nice, pleasant, and almost…dare she think it? _**Caring**_…

_**Did someone slip him a personality-changing potion**_? she wondered. _**Or did someone just knock a new personality into him? Maybe being stuck in the bathroom with me scared him enough to become a nicer person**_? She almost laughed at the thought. Yeah, right, that would be the day.

No matter what was going on with him, she liked this new Draco; although, as much as she hated to admit it, she rather enjoyed their verbal sparring. With Ron it had just been pure aggravation so much of the time, but with Draco, it was much different. There were times, like in the bathroom, when their arguing had been more…was it even possible...? Surely it was impossible! But it had seemed…Almost…_**flirtatious**_…But there was no way that was what it was.

_**He doesn't find me attractive**_, Hermione thought, and felt as if her stomach was sinking straight out into the grass. _**After all, he used to call me a 'beaver'**_.

But as Draco rolled over onto his side, still muttering something indistinguishable, she realized, _**I've changed, and so has he. We've both grown up, and the circumstances are much different than what they used to be. So maybe it is a possibility. And why am I even thinking this? Why am I even hoping he was flirting with me? Why would I even care if he finds me attractive? Our relationship is strictly platonic, and I'm not interested in him as something more than a friend and a tent-mate**_.

Trying to feel disturbed about these bizarre thoughts and not quite managing it, she pulled her knees up to her chest, and gazed out at the ocean. The sun was now directly overhead, so it was probably around noon. It was really quite beautiful out there, with the sky bluer than sapphires, and the ocean shining white in the light.

"Whassatime?"

Hermione swiveled her upper body to look over at Draco. He was lying on his side facing her, and was obviously still half asleep. And – curse it! – he looked adorable. He had pulled his hand out of hers, but it was still only centimeters away from her.

Hermione glanced at the sky again, and then down at her wrist, where her watch would normally have been. But in the chaos of this morning, she had completely forgotten to put it on.

"Probably about midday," she answered, smoothing her nightgown down over her legs.

"Ah." He jerked his head and thumb in the direction of the tent, although they couldn't see it – they were outside of the boundaries to ensure they didn't hear anything – awkward – coming from the tent.

"D'you think it's safe to go back in the tent? Have they finished having their 'sweet and tender moment'?"

Hermione smirked. "If they haven't then I think we might need to worry. Come on, let's go check."

Draco got to his feet and held out his hand to help Hermione up. She placed her hand in his and he pulled her to her feet.

They headed in the general direction that they knew the tent was, and after a few minutes of searching ("Fantastic – we need a fucking compass to find the tent," Draco muttered as they stumbled around with their hands outstretched to find the magical borders), the tent appeared in front of them.

Hermione and Draco ducked under the tent flap and into the sitting room, eyes closed – they weren't overly fond of the idea of walking in on Harry and Ginny with their tongues down the other's throats – and calling out, "We're here, is it safe to come in? Can we come in?"

"Um, yeah, sure," Harry said from where he was standing in the kitchen, sounding a bit confused.

Hermione and Draco opened their eyes and saw Harry and Ginny both standing at the counter, drinking coffee and looking every bit as worn out as they themselves felt.

Hermione relaxed, relieved they had hadn't found Harry and Ginny playing tonsil-hockey, and said, "Is there any coffee left?"

Ginny shoved the pot and a couple of mugs towards them. "Help yourself. And what did you two think you were walking in on anyway?"

"Let's not even go there," Draco mumbled with a shudder as he poured the coffee into the mug nearest him and downed in one gulp. "Blech – this is bitterer than polyjuice potion!"

"Here's the sugar," Ginny retorted, although there was just barely a trace of venom in her voice – she was too tired from their abrupt start that morning. She picked up the canister and slammed it down in front of Draco.

"Spoon?" he snapped back.

"Just dump it in," she told him. "I'm going back to bed. 'Night guys."

"It's 12:30 in the afternoon!" Draco called after her.

"I prefer to think of it as 12:30 in the morning," she replied as she made her way to the girls' bunks. The curtain closed with a _**whish**_, and they could hear the creaking of the upper bunk.

Harry sighed and snatched the sugar out of Draco's hands, just as he was about to pour some of it in.

"Hey!" Draco protested.

"Thanks," Harry answered, eyes drooping a bit as he spooned some sugar into his mug.

"Harry, your cup's empty," Hermione informed him.

"I thought it seemed light," Harry mumbled. "Ack, forget it, I'm going to bed too. Wake me if there's another dementor attack."

And he retreated to the boys' side of the tent.

Draco looked over at Hermione. "Going back to bed too?"

She shook her head. "I'm wide awake now. Besides, if I conk out now, I won't be able to get any sleep tonight."

"But Harry and Ginny – "

"I'm assuming they didn't sleep for the past three hours."

"Good point."

Hermione entwined her fingers and stretched her arms over her head. "I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed – actually, no, scratch that. I'm going to go swimming in the ocean, its warm enough outside."

And she headed for the bunks. Once she had gotten the curtain closed, she stripped and in place of her nightgown pulled on the only swimsuit she had packed: A dark blue and green two piece. She slipped cotton boy shorts and ribbed lavender tank top over the swimming wear, slid her feet into flip-flops, and grabbed one of the towels, before heading back out into the main part of the tent.

Draco was now sitting in one of the armchairs, sipping his coffee, and paging through the latest edition of Quidditch Weekly (which Tonks had lent him for the week). He looked up at her as she passed by, but all he said was, "Don't forget the compass."

She flipped him off as she walked out, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him grin.

Once outside, she made a direct beeline for the ocean. The air was warm and tingled with the scent of the saltwater. As soon as she was outside of the tent's defensive boundaries (for the second time that day! She was becoming reckless…!) she kicked her flip-flops off and ran to the beach. She could feel the wet sand molding beneath her feet, like grainy Play-Doh, and the wind whipped at her hair, tangling it up.

She ripped her tank top and shorts off and dove right into the ocean. The water was freezing, and chilled her to the bone, but the sun was warm on her face, and so she stayed in.

After she had gotten used to the ocean's temperature, she slid under the waves. She held her breath for as long as she could, before standing back up, feet firmly lodged in the sandy bottom.

Smoothing her wild hair out of her face, she nearly had a heart attack when she heard someone say, "Did you honestly think you were going to get all the fun?"

Hermione blinked water out of her eyes and saw Draco standing on the beach, in board shorts and a t-shirt, a smirk on his face.

What – what are you doing here?"

"Well, the tent was much too quiet without Harry and Ginny, and since sleep was out of the question due to the reasons you stated, I figured I'd come out and join you, maybe see if I could my skin from an albino white to a soft cream. Besides," he added, as he pulled his shirt up over his head, "I _**love**_ the beach."

He walked into the water and nearly jumped back out onto the beach. "Shit – that is cold!"

Hermione smirked. "Oops, maybe I should've warned you."

"Oh, you'll pay for that Granger." He splashed her as hard as he could, and she squealed as a wave of the freezing saltwater re-soaked her.

"Just for that – !" she sent a tidal wave of water back at him.

They stayed there in the ocean for the next few hours, swimming and splashing each other, but when the temperature began to dip down around five-o-clock, the two teenagers agreed that maybe it was time to dry off and go inside.

"Hope you remembered the compass," Hermione quipped as she rubbed her towel over her legs.

That night after dinner, Harry shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. They were in the sitting room, reading and listening to music. Draco had finally agreed to use ear buds, which cut down on Hermione's annoyance.

"Look," Harry said, "I know we're on the run and everything, and we haven't had a lot of time to think about this, but – " he paused, before continuing on. "We need to figure out how to get rid of the horcrux. We don't have any new leads for whatever the last one is, and we can't get to Nagini obviously, so I guess we should be focusing on killing the thing that's inside the Hufflepuff cup."

Hermione nodded. "I've done some research on that Harry, but there's only one other thing besides basilisk venom that we could ever get our hands on, and it's almost as dangerous as the Chief Death Eater when he's in a bad mood!"

Harry leaned forward with interest. "What is it?"

"It's called _**fiendfyre**_," she explained. "It's, well, it's cursed fire, and it can get out of control so easily! Towns, cities, even small countries, have burnt down because a witch or wizard who had created it lost their concentration for a split second!"

"So it's back to the idea of basilisk venom?" Ginny piped up.

"I suppose so," Harry said thoughtfully. "Well, I guess we'll just have to research where to find basilisk snakes, steal a rooster, and then scare it enough so that it'll cry – remember, a rooster's cry will kill it?"

Hermione and Ginny both bobbed their heads, although Draco was frowning in mild confusion.

"I'll begin right now," Hermione volunteered, and without further ado, grabbed the first book out of her bag that she could find.

* * *

**_So what did everyone think about this chapter? There really wasn't much point to this particular chapter, except for the end, and even that was pretty brief. The main focus was to show everyone what Hermione is going through when it comes to Draco. Hopefully the next chapter will be a little bit more interesting! But anyway, let me know what you guys think! Seriously, your reviews light up my entire day! :)_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	20. Chapter 20

**_And Chapter Nineteen is up! Yea! I think this one will be pretty interesting, even though it's a little bit short._**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling, because then I would own the Harry Potter world, and the last time I checked, my only connection to HP world is through the books, fanfiction, and the movies. So nope, I'm not J.K Rowling_**

**_OBLuvr13: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked chapter seventeen (although according to fanfiction it was chapter eighteen)! I wasn't planning on tossing a death eater attack in there, but it kind of seemed important to get some more action into the story :)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you very much for reviewing! Haha yeah, Draco's awesome! I'm hoping to focus a little more on horcruxes at some point in the next few chapters, so hopefully you won't have to wait very long :)_**

**_Gringotts713: Thank you! I'm happy to hear you like the story so far! :)_**

**_LoonyMoony1396: Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked the beach scene :)_**

**_xoRetributionox: Thank you so much! Okay, I'm going to try to write the story from both points of view. Thanks for letting me know! :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you! Haha, yep, Hermione and Draco both seem to have trouble seeing what's right in front of them. She doesn't find herself pretty, just average, probably because she wasn't considered to be absolutely gorgeous. Plus, she had Draco insulting her at every turn, calling her "beaver" and "mud-blood" which couldn't have helped her self-esteem. I'm actually still trying to figure out just what Harry and Ginny were doing. I'll probably keep it simple though, I don't want to have to change the rating LOL. That's right - Hermione, Draco, Harry, and Ginny more or less know where the tent is, so if they leave the boundaries, they can still come back to it fairly easily (although I'm sure Draco would still be exaggerating and making sarcastic comments about a compass); for anyone else it would be absolutely impossible for them to find the tent :)_**

**_trublu89: Thanks for your review! _**

**_And of course, thank you so much for everyone who favorited and put an alert on this story! I love you guys! :)_**

**_A/N: This is towards someone who informed me that it's Ron and Hermione, not Draco and Hermione. You are more than entitled to your own opinion, and I won't argue with you. _****_Just for the record though, I have nothing against Ron. I love Hermione with Ron in the books and movies, and I do read some of those fanfics - I even have a Harry/Ginny-Ron/Hermione one-shot (incase you or anyone else is interested). But when push comes to shove, I prefer Hermione/Draco stories. Maybe it has something to do with the whole enemies falling in love appeal...Anyway, just thought I'd mention that. But why are you reading Dramione fics if you're a Ron/Hermione fan? No offense, but I'm a little confused over that...But this is fanfiction. People are allowed their own opinions as well, and can imagine and write what they think should have happened, or what might have happened if the circumstances were shifted a bit. But please, if you don't like this story for the sole reason that you don't like Dramione, then seriously, don't read it, and don't complain to me, because I'm not going to delete the story and begin writing nice and sweet Hermione/Ron fics. I'm sorry if that seemed rude, I was trying to stay polite and respectful, but that last sentence might have come out blunt. I'm not erasing it though, because I don't want people thinking that if they tell me that I'm not writing the right thing, that I'm going to switch my topics. Never gonna happen. Sorry. And honestly, I didn't mean to be rude, I just don't know any other way to put it! :)_**

* * *

Chapter Nineteen – The Truth Can Be Surprising…And Not So Surprising

Draco did not sleep well that night. He tossed and turned. Just as he seemed to be relaxing, a muscle would cramp up, and then he would be forced to flip back over. He wasn't sure, but he had a pretty good idea that Harry wasn't sleeping either, not with the constant squeaking that Draco's mattress was making.

The worst part of it was that Draco was in that blurry stage between being awake and asleep. He was sleeping, and yet at the same time he was still aware of his surroundings. But that wasn't the worst part: The worst part was the person – namely girl – who kept dancing in front of Draco's eyelids. He couldn't get Hermione, or the dream he had had the night before, out of his head.

He wasn't sure when he finally drifted off into a deep sleep; all he knew was the dream he was experiencing.

"_**Draco?" Pansy Parkinson said as they walked through the entrance hall towards the Great Hall.**_

"_**Yes Pansy?" he replied, turning to fix his stormy-gray eyed gaze on her.**_

_**She smiled happily through the shade of pink glitter that seemed to have glued itself to anything she came in contact with. "I'm really glad you asked me to the Yule Ball."**_

_**Draco flashed her his trademark smirk. Of course she was. She had been throwing herself at him since their third year, the year before. It had been so obvious to the entire school that they would end up together by the time they were in their sixth year. But it was happening two years earlier, and this proved to Draco that they would be the It Couple of Hogwarts…Or Slytherin anyway. It was practically written in stone, just like everything else in their future. They would either breakup – once outside of Hogwarts, of course – and marry other purebloods, or else they would marry each other, at a beautiful, tasteful ceremony. Draco would have a good job with the ministry – or else would have a good relationship with the ministry – and Pansy would be the perfect trophy wife, staying slim through eating nothing but salad with lemon juice and tea with no sugar. She would never have to work, but instead would leave their children at home with a nanny and a house-elf, and would spend her days organizing numerous charity events for the pureblood society, or having a nice, light, low-fat, non-calorie brunch with her fellow trophy-wife friends. It would be a comfortable life, but it wasn't one they would have to settle into for at least eight years. Oftentimes out of Hogwarts, purebloods went a little crazy, exploring the more dangerous side of life, sometimes sinking so low as to date a muggle-born. But ninety-percent of the time they came crawling back to their parents with apologies and plenty of ass-kissing, and their mother and father would welcome them back gracefully. And that would be when their real adult life began.**_

_**There would be quiet scandals throughout the next twenty years after they settled down, always very hush-hush of course. Pansy would eventually have an affair with Blaise Zabini, and Draco would no doubt end up in an extramarital relationship with another one of Pansy's friends.**_

_**But of course, he wasn't thinking about that on that fateful Christmas night. All he was thinking about was whether or not Pansy would allow him to kiss her…Or if he was lucky, she might even agree to hiding out in an abandoned classroom for a couple of hours…He figured she would though. The way she was slobbering over him, he was sure he could ask her to go and commit mass murder and she would ask if he had any targets in mind.**_

_**And it was while he was thinking this (his smirk now so wide that his face felt as if it was going to break) that he saw her for the first time.**_

_**Well, no, it wasn't for the first time, but it sure felt like that. She was standing there, hand in hand with Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang champion and the famous Bulgarian Quidditch player. She was in a sleek periwinkle gown with spaghetti strap sleeves, and a full skirt. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Perhaps it was the way her thick, bushy hair was straight and shiny and pulled back into a bun, or the way her skin seemed to be glowing, perhaps from carefully-applied makeup, perhaps just from a newfound confidence. Or it could have been just the way she was holding herself, standing up straighter, with beautiful posture, that Draco had never realized she had, due to the three-hundred-and-seventy-eight books she always had slung over her shoulder in that humongous book bag of hers.**_

_**Whatever the reason, Hermione Granger was absolutely radiant. She was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful. She was smiling brilliantly, and he nearly did a double-take. Her teeth – her oversized, beaver teeth – were perfectly straight and white and small – well, normal sized anyway. But after the fangs he was used to seeing protruding from her mouth, they looked tiny.**_

_**Her eyes met his for a brief moment, as he walked by with Pansy hanging onto his arm, and Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**_

_**And then they glided into the Great Hall and he could no longer see her.**_

And that's when he woke up.

He was soaking wet from the cold sweat that seemed to have exploded from his pores. He was shivering and shaking and yet hot at the same time. And for the second morning in a row, he was lying on the floor in a tangle of blankets. However, unlike the morning before, Harry was not in bed, still mostly asleep. Today, he was kneeling beside Draco, looking slightly worried.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Draco yanked his legs out from the covers and threw the bundle back on the bed. It looked a bit late in the morning; the sun was shining in brightly, and the air was warm.

"I'm fine," he said shortly. "I just – just a nightmare."

"Yes," Harry said dryly, "I suppose for you it would be a nightmare if Hermione was in the dream and absolutely _**beautiful**_."

Draco's jaw dropped. "I – wh – you – "

"You were muttering in your sleep," Harry said with a shrug. "And you seemed to be talking about Hermione."

Draco stared with horror at Harry.

"Oh, don't worry," the bespectacled boy said with a reassuring smile. "The second I realized who you were talking about, I asked Hermione and Ginny to go outside and keep watch until lunch. And then I cast _**silencio**_ around our bunks."

"So, um," Draco began, "what exactly was I saying?"

He had a very bad feeling about this…

Harry was now smirking a bit. "Well, you called Hermione 'beautiful', 'gorgeous', and 'radiant'. You also wanted to know what happened to her oversized beaver teeth."

Draco winced. "Uh, yeah, just…you know…typical male reactions…We were at the Yule Ball," he added by way of explanation. "And you know, she was…She didn't look like the Hermione Granger that I knew."

Harry nodded. "I think she showed a very different side of her that night."

Draco tried for a weak smile. Maybe he was going to get out of this one without having to tell Harry anything at all.

"So why were you having a dream about Hermione?"

Or maybe he was just going to be very unlucky.

"How should I know? Can _**you**_ control what you dream?"

Harry frowned, and Draco remembered that dreams were how Harry had originally been able to see into Voldemort's mind.

"I mean – I wasn't insulting you," he amended quickly. "I just – that dream – it wasn't a big deal. It was just a dream."

"Draco," Harry said seriously. "When you have a dream so vivid that you fall right out of bed, then it isn't just a dream. It was a memory, and there's more to it."

Draco looked away. He was trapped, and he knew it.

"Draco? What is it? Do you have feelings for Hermione?

Hermione sat just outside the tent, sipping a bottle of icy pumpkin juice and looking through a huge, leather-bound book, while Ginny flipped through the Quidditch Weekly magazine she had snatched from Draco when he was in the shower the night before.

Their wands were out, although neither sensed any danger. The sun was glowing down on them as if rewarding them for being alive one more day. It was pleasantly warm, and for the time being, there was nothing that needed to be done, except for figuring out alternative ways of destroying horcruxes –thus the book in Hermione's lap.

But for quite possibly the first time in living history, Hermione Granger could not concentrate. And that wasn't even the shocker. It was the reason _**why**_ she couldn't concentrate.

After reading the same sentence over for the twenty-third time in a row, Hermione slammed the book shut, startling Ginny, who jumped about ten feet in the air beside her.

"Sorry," Hermione said quickly when Ginny turned to glare at her. "I just – I'm not thinking right."

"Are you sick?" Ginny asked worriedly. "I mean, you've never had any trouble thinking before."

"Haha," Hermione retorted sarcastically. "I can think – I'm just not thinking of what I should be thinking about."

"Ohhhh…And what are you thinking about?"

Hermione blushed. "Does it even really matter?"

"If you're unable to do research – your favorite thing in the world – then hell yeah, it matters."

"Okay, first of all, research is _**not**_ my favorite thing in the – "

"Just spit it out Hermione. What are you thinking of?"

Draco didn't answer right away. He wasn't sure he could. To answer that would mean he would actually have to be able to form words, and he wasn't even seventy-five percent positive that he could do that.

But Harry was waiting, and from experience, Draco knew that if he didn't answer, the worst would be assumed.

So he gulped, tried to find his courage, dig his nails into it so that it wouldn't escape him, and said in the strongest and most casual voice that he could muster, said, "Yeah, I have feelings for Hermione."

The reaction that he had been expecting was Harry punching him in the face, maybe hexing him all the way to the Pacific Ocean. What he had not been expecting was for Harry to grin wildly, punch the air, and yell, "I KNEW IT!"

To say Draco was taken aback would have been the understatement of the millennium. "You – you did?"

"It was pretty obvious after awhile," Harry said, calming down a bit. "It was Ginny who began to notice things first."

"Like what?"

"Well, I mean, all pretty minor. Just the way your eyes would linger on Hermione a little longer then what was necessary. The little inflections in your voice when you would talk to her. That sort of thing."

Draco nodded. He had never really noticed any of what Harry had just mentioned, but he supposed that that was because he was too – close – to the situation.

"Ginny pointed it out to me, and I began to see it too. And then that day in the bathroom with you and Hermione…It was just too obvious. You guys like each other."

"Wait – hold on a second," Draco held up his hand. "Go back to that last bit. What do you mean we _**like**_ each other? She doesn't like me; not as anything but a friend anyway."

Harry grinned. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. She may not have realized yet – and since it is Hermione, I'm sure she hasn't; she's brilliant at knowing what everyone else is feeling, but when it comes to her own emotions, she's completely clueless – but she does care about you, as something more than a friend."

Draco plopped down onto the bed beside the huge pile of blankets. This was definitely something he needed to think about…

Hermione entwined her fingers together, twisting them nervously around.

"Hermione?" Ginny prodded.

"Draco! I was thinking about Draco!"

"Why? Has he said something to you? Whatever it is Hermione, you can't believe him."

"No! He's been perfectly lovely. But that's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

"Have you – " Hermione paused, swallowing. "Have you ever wondered if maybe there was more to a person than meets the eye? Or that maybe, despite your better judgment, you're majorly attracted to someone who you don't want to be attracted to?"

Ginny leaned towards the other girl. "Hermione, you're scaring me now. What's going on?"

Before she could think twice about what she was saying, Hermione burst out with: "I think I'm falling for Draco Malfoy!"

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think? I was able to keep more towards what I had originally planned with Draco telling Harry how he felt, and managed to incorporate Hermione finally coming to her senses as well :) I know, I know, I began another chapter with a dream scene, but I like writing them way too much! Anyway, let me know what you all think!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	21. Chapter 21

**_Hey everyone! I finally got up chapter twenty! YEA! I'm so sorry it took so long, but I had some problems writing this chapter - I ended up with a small case of writer's block. Plus, once I finally did have my breakthrough, I was super busy studying for Economics, so it wasn't until last night that I finally got the chance to finish writing it. I was going to post it then, but it was getting late, so I figured I'd just put it up today, and here it is!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or his world. I'm just here to experiment and mess around and have fun and play! :)_**

**_xoRetributionox: Thank you! Yeah, it's about time they finally figured out their true feelings right? :)_**

**_Ks21178: Thanks! Yeah, I think the whole enemies falling for each other thing is addictive in a way...:)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you so much! Haha, I agree, Draco's pretty awesome when he's being nice :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you very much! Oh, there will definitely be more to come, and yes, you're right - Hermione's and Draco's confessions are definitely not the end of it! Thanks, I'm glad I got the Yule Ball dream/scene down okay :)_**

**_Torch-SherlockWho-Wood: Thank you for reviewing! Haha, I'm glad you're excited! :)_**

**_Ginnyx34eva: Thank you! I'm glad you were anticipating the confession! :)_**

**_The Scratch Man: Thank you for reviewing! Sorry it took me so long to update, but here it is! :)_**

**_Ethereal Thoughts: Thank you! I would still love a beta! But where should I e-mail you? I think maybe my e-mail's acting up, I don't think I got your entire message. Could you PM me or something? Thank you! I'm trying to keep their growing friendship/relationship at a natural, steady pace :)_**

**_somegirl21: Thank you very much! Here it is! :)_**

**_LoonyMoony1396: Thank you! Yeah, sorry about that, this one's short as well :( Anyway, thanks! :)_**

**_OBLuvr13: Thank you! Yeah, it took them forever! :)_**

**_Oh my gosh! I just checked the number of reviews for this story I've gotten so far, and there's ONE-HUNDRED EVEN! SO THANK YOU EVERYONE SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING, IT MEANS SO MUCH! YOU ARE ALL FANTASTIC! :) 3_**

**_And of course, to everyone who has story alerted or favorited this story, THANK YOU! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING! :) 3_**

**_Also, to everyone who has taken the time to read this story! YOU ARE ALL AWESOME! :) 3_**

* * *

Chapter Twenty – Really Adds to the Creepy Factor

Ginny dropped her head into her hands. "I think I'm going to need a therapist to get past that last sentence," she groaned.

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized in a small voice.

"Don't be," Ginny advised her, lifting her head up so that she could meet Hermione's eyes. "I knew you had a crush on Draco, it was so obvious! You two enjoyed bickering way too much."

"But what does that have to with anything?" Hermione demanded, frowning a bit.

"Sexual tension, my dear friend. You two have way too much. No wonder you two can't get along to save your lives. The tension is so thick you could probably cut it with the sword of Gryffindor."

"Okay, that is a _**huge**_ exaggeration," Hermione insisted. "It's not that bad."

"Oh please, you should have seen you two when Harry and I opened the door to the bathroom."

"We were actually enjoying hanging out with each other!"

"Because you were _**with**_ each other."

"So? I like being with Harry, and I like being with you."

"Yes, but you like being with Draco in a – ahem – romantic way."

"Why are we even arguing about this? This is stupid. I have a crush on Draco Malfoy, that's all. Nothing else to it."

"Ah, and we're back to the stage of _**denial**_."

"Ginny, if you keep that up – !"

"Or you'll what? Hmmm? What exactly are you gonna do?"

Hermione groaned, and then got to her feet and stomped into the tent. She found Harry and Draco in the middle of the tent, talking.

"Your girlfriend's driving me crazy," she informed Harry. "She's out of her freaking _**mind**_."

Draco snorted. "I could have told you that when she first got off the Hogwarts Express."

"Hey!" Harry protested. "She is not – I mean – oh forget it!" and he threw his hands up and marched out of the tent to sit guard with Ginny.

"So," Draco said, turning to Hermione. "Why is Ginny driving you crazy?"

"What? Oh, no reason, just, you know, being herself I guess…" Hermione let her voice fade out, before jerking her thumb in the direction of the kitchenette. "I'm starving? Are you hungry?"

"Famished," Draco answered automatically, shocked by the sudden directional change of the conversation.

"I'll make eggs," Hermione volunteered, already backing away towards the stove. "What kind do you want?"

"Scrambled I guess, preferably still a bit runny."

"And what do you say?"

Draco frowned, his brow furrowing as he struggled to come up with the right answer. "Please?"

Hermione smirked at him before cracking an egg into a bowl. "I knew there was hope for you."

He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled.

"So seriously," Draco continued on. "Why is Ginny driving you crazy?"

"Does it even matter?" She pulled a frying pan out of the cabinet to the side of the stove and placed it on the stove, lighting the burner with her wand.

"No, but now I'm curious, and I won't stop pestering you until I get the answer. And you know how annoying I can be. We're talking endless hours of _**Norma Jean**_ blasting out of the laptop _**with no**_ _**headphones**_."

So she was faced with an ultimatum: Possible complete humiliation, or bleeding eardrums…

"She just has this absolutely _**insane**_ idea that you and I – I mean – that we – you know – have sexual tension."

As nonchalantly as she could, she poured the eggs into the frying pan and began stirring them.

Draco's jaw dropped. "She does huh?"

Hermione could feel her face heating up. "Crazy, I know."

"Well, maybe not quite that – "

"I'VE GOT IT!" Harry's voice erupted from outside the tent.

He came dashing into the tent, Ginny right behind him, a bewildered expression on her face.

"You've got what?" Hermione asked, startled, spatula an inch away from the eggs in the pan.

"Instead of trying to figure out a new way to kill the horcrux, why don't we just go with the original way?"

"Maybe you hit your head or something, because you're obviously forgetting something _**extremely**_ important – we no longer have the sword. So unless you want to steal it back – " Hermione's voice trailed off as Harry nodded eagerly, his emerald green eyes glinting with excitement.

"No! Absolutely not! Are you as crazy as your girlfriend?"

"Hey!" Ginny protested, glaring at Hermione, but the other girl ignored her.

"Harry, we don't even know which goblin has the sword! Do you really want to raid every goblin's home in Great Britain?"

"Well, it's easy enough to figure out," Harry said, sliding onto a stool and folding his hands patiently on the counter. "I imagine whichever goblin family crafted the original sword is the one that the sword is with now."

"Yes, but therein lies the problem Harry – we don't know which goblin family it is."

"No, we actually do! Don't you remember what Griphook told us when we were making the deal with him to break into the Lestrange's vault?"

Hermione shook her head, and Harry gaped at her in astonishment.

"This has to be recorded somehow or other – for the first time in living history, Hermione Granger doesn't remember the answer to a question!"

"Just tell us the freaking name!"

"Okay, okay, keep your hairnet on – "

"I don't wear a hairnet!"

"It's a saying!"

"And a really stupid one!"

"It's better than the one about keeping your pants on!"

"WHAT'S THE DAMN NAME?"

"RAGNUK THE FIRST!"

"NOW WAS THAT SO HARD?"

"STOP YELLING!"

"ONLY WHEN YOU STOP!"

"FINE! I'VE STOPPED!"

"NO YOU HAVEN'T!"

"WELL, NEITHER HAVE YOU!"

"AAAAAGH! YOU'RE AS INSUFFERABLE AS RON IS, YOU KNOW THAT HARRY?"

Draco leaned over towards Ginny. "And here I thought I was the only one who could drive her crazy."

Ginny smirked. "Believe me Draco, when it comes to Hermione, it's a short drive. Incase you didn't notice earlier, I managed to drive her up the wall."

"Yeah, about that – why did you say we have sexual tension?"

Ginny shrugged, eyes on Harry and Hermione as they continued to yell at each other about who was yelling at who. "Because you do."

"_**No we don't**_!"

"Yes you do! You're just too bone-headed to see it."

"Hey!"

"Well it's true."

"No it's not!"

"Oh puh-leeze, it's so obvious. You two are anything but subtle."

Draco made a face. "Hermione's right – you _**are**_ crazy."

Ginny grinned. "Ah, but that's why you guys love me so much!" and she pranced right in-between where Hermione and Harry were now standing face to face in the kitchen, screaming bloody murder at each other, while the eggs slowly turned to charcoal.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered, "SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP!"

They both stopped in the middle of mid-yell and turned to look at her. She smiled sweetly at them and propped herself up onto the counter. "Thank you. By the way, I don't think the eggs are any longer edible."

Hermione turned to the burner and swore. She pulled her wand back out and began muttering spells, transfiguring the eggs back into something that people might actually want to eat.

"So," Harry said as they all dug into their eggs, "what we need to do is locate where the current Ragnuk family is living – "

"And break into their house while they're asleep, make a quick search, find the sword, steal the sword, get ourselves caught, and then make a hasty escape and hope they're not in contact with the

Ministry of Magic, and that they don't have any anti-thief spells on the sword," Hermione proclaimed with an eye roll.

"You complicate things, you know that?" Harry informed her, pointing a forkful of egg at her.

"No, I'm just realistic. Face it Harry, your plan has flaws."

"Which is why we need to talk it out and figure out how to carry it out so that we don't have to worry about those flaws."

"And yet no matter what, every time we have a plan and we work it out, no matter how carefully or thoroughly, something always goes wrong. Remember the Ministry of Magic? Remember Godric's Hollow? Xenophilius Lovegood? How about Gringotts? The cave? Or better yet, Little Hangleton? Don't you get it Harry? No matter what we do to prevent things from going wrong, something always gets messed up."

"Hey, things weren't that bad with the cave," Harry said defensively.

"Are you effing kidding me? Do you not remember what happened to Draco?"

"But that was the worst of it! And he recovered within a few hours. I mean, I'm sorry that happened to him, but it could have been so much worse!"

"Yeah, but think about it Harry! That was the _**least**_ damaging! Every other time we either almost died or got caught, or both!"

"So you're saying we shouldn't take risks because things probably won't go the way we hope they will?"

"I – " he had her there. "I'm just tired of our lives always being put on the line."

"And you don't think I'm not?" he roared. "Hermione, I would dearly love it if we could just forget about the horcruxes, if we could just head to some sunny, tropical island resort where no one knows or gives a damn about who we are, if we could just stay there for the rest of our lives! But we can't! We're the resistance, the only ones who know how to defeat him, how to stop him from taking over the world and killing anyone who stands up to him!"

"I know that! But – the sacrifices – they need to stop!"

Harry sighed and got off his stool to walk over to Hermione. He put his arms around her and she leaned into him.

"They will. Ron will be the last one of the Order of the Phoenix, the last one of our friends, to be attacked. We're going to make sure of it."

Hermione nodded, and pulled away from him.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick and wobbly with suppressed tears. "I've been really emotional lately, I don't know why."

"PMS?" Draco cracked, and Ginny slapped him around the back of the head.

"Hey!"

"It's been since we were at Tonks and Lupin's," Harry said slowly. "That must have set you off, with the reminder of Ron hanging around them."

"I'll try to get myself under control," Hermione promised. "I can't handle being so emotional. It's like I'm a freaking Pisces (_**A/N: Haha, I'm a Pisces**_!) or something!"

"Yeah, it's like you're Ron," Ginny said with a smirk. "Except, you know, you don't eat five times your weight in food at every meal."

Hermione smiled weakly. "Yeah, thank heavens for that."

Draco shook his head. "We're all acting completely out of character. It must have something to do with being on the run and all the added stress and tension."

Ginny snickered into her fist, and both Hermione and Draco glowered at her.

"Not _**sexual**_ tension," Draco snapped at her. "The tension of being chased and almost getting caught by evil people who think that a tattoo of a skull with a snake is the perfect accessory."

"Well," Hermione said, smirking a bit, "it does go well with those long black robes and the masks, really adds to the creepy factor."

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "They are a perfect example of _**what not to wear**_ – oh shit! I used to be one of those people!"

The others all burst out into laughter, and for just a few moments, the tension and stress eased into relaxation.

* * *

**_Sorry it was another short chapter everyone! And I'm also sorry there wasn't a lot of Dramione in it, it was a bit of a filler :( _**

**_Anyway, for those who didn't catch the reference to Pisces, it's a zodiac sign for people born between February 20th and March 20th, and a lot of times they're more sensitive than other people, which is what Hermione was referring to._**

**_I also wasn't planning on having Hermione have ANOTHER breakdown, but it keeps happening! Grrr...I swear, I have no control over these characters, they're too stubborn and independent for their own good...:|_**

**_Hopefully the next chapter will be a little more interesting! :)_**

**_So let me know what you all think of this chapter, because I love getting and recieving reviews!_**

**_Oh, and although most of you guys will probably never see it, thank you to everyone who story alerted and favorited and favorite author-ed my Harry/Ginny Ron/Hermione one-short "Quidditch Love"!_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	22. Chapter 22

**_Wow, here's chapter twenty-one, and just a couple of days since I last updated! Yea! Maybe I'll begin updating more than once a week...maybe...;) This also happens to be my very favorite chapter to write so far...haha, just thought I'd throw that in :D_**

**_This chapter is going to be a really interesting one, as well as a long one. The word count without my extra a/ns, disclaimers, and thank yous is 4,989 words - a personal fanfiction record for me! A lot happens in this chapter, but there is a warning: There is a couple of scenes with mild self-mutilation, and I wouldn't call it overly pleasant. I am by no means encouraging the use of cutting, not by a long shot, thus the warning. I'm not putting up warnings this time around, because I don't think it's all that bad, but if you guys want me to, next time I write in an angsty scene, I will. :) Oh, and this will also be a very emotional chapter, but I think you guys are going to like it ;)_**

**_Disclaimer: Trust me, I'm not J.K Rowling, because if I was, I wouldn't have to use a disclaimer._**

**_clairerichardson711: Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying reading it! Hmmm, there's an idea...I don't think the change of the zodiac signs has affected me in the least, but maybe it affect Hermione and Draco! There's their excuse ;) As for when will they kiss? Heehee, you'll see...:)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! Yeah, Ginny's pretty awesome. Thanks, I didn't think I managed to get any humor in this chapter, the last chapter was pretty serious, as is this one :)_**

**_xoRetributionox: Thank you! It began right around the very beginning of the climax in DH, after they've broken out of Gringotts. I can't remember the chapter number, but it was right before Harry got the vision of Voldemort - excuse me, the Chief Death Eater - that let him know that the last horcrux was at Hogwarts :) Thanks, it was extremely busy. I hope yours was good too! :)_**

**_OBLuvr13: Thank you! Yeah, I was thinking that I wish I had gotten some more Dramione moments in the last chapter after I updated...but yes, believe me, there are many more to come :)_**

**_Linx: Thank you! Yeah, Ginny can be really funny :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you! Haha, of course, would they be Hermione and Draco without some denial on their part? It's definitely how girls act sometimes, I've scared my best guy friend a number of times from being an emotional girl, I'm surprised he hasn't checked himself into an insane asylum yet (not that I haven't suggested it, just because I'm so nice heehee). No, definitely not a daily basis...And she's definitely not crazy or an emotional wreck, thank goodness :)_**

**_Ks21178: Thank you so much! Heehee, yep, it's definitely the best of both worlds right? :)_**

**_An anonymous reviewer: Thank you so much! :)_**

**_And a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has story alerted or favorited (or both) this story, or put me, your ever loving Science-Fantasy93 on author's alert!_**

**_And THANK YOU so much to everyone who has taken the time out of their day to read this story, it means so much to me! :_**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One – The Words the Ferret Can't Say

And so the plans began. Again. The first thing to do was figure out where the Ragnuk family was living now. They looked through every single one of the books that Hermione had brought, even the ones about potions or transfiguration, but to no avail.

"Well, how the bloody hell were we supposed to know we were going to need an address directory for goblin families?" Draco cried in frustration, slamming his book shut so that little clouds of dust rose in the sun-streaked air.

It was the next day. They were now camping in a bunch of fields somewhere in southern Great Britain, and the weather couldn't have been better. It was bright and sunny and warm, around sixty five degrees, but where were they? Oh yeah, stuck inside, looking through random books.

Okay, so they could've brought the books outside, but none of them wanted to lug fifty volumes of history encyclopedias outside. It wasn't so bad when they were in Hermione's bag – they were completely weightless – but the extension charm on her bag seemed to be malfunctioning, and she had been forced to dump the contents out while she tried to figure out what had gone wrong with the spell. Harry had suggested that it was just wearing off, which made perfect sense, because it had been on the bag for over a year, and charms weren't generally meant to last more than six months at a time, at the most. So considering how long it had worked was a sign of just how brilliant Hermione was when it came to magic and all the useful little charms.

"After all, they're soooo easy to find, aren't they?" Draco continued on, his voice practically dripping with honey-coated sarcasm. "Just walk down the street and whaddaya know! There they are, in that random Victorian style house with the white picket fence and the flower garden, with their kids running around the yard, jumping rope and playing with their hula-hoops and toy broomsticks!"

With a loud sigh of disgust, he slumped on his back on the floor, a fierce scowl on his face.

"Well, it makes sense that they would be so hard to find," Hermione said reasonably.

He turned his head to look at her. "Oh, don't even start Granger," he snapped.

"But just hear me out!" she cried, sounding offended and a little hurt. "They've been forced to go into hiding because of the Goblin Rebellions, when the wizards were trying to control them. They don't want anyone of us to steal their secrets!"

"What's this 'us' bullshit?" Draco retorted. "Do you see me trying to break into their house so I can learn all their precious secrets of sword crafting? Do you see Harry or Ginny rummaging through their safes to take their gold? And what about you huh? If there was anyone the least likely to try and steal from them, it would be you!"

"I didn't mean 'us' as in 'us' directly," Hermione replied haughtily. "I mean 'us' in the more wider term – wizards and witches as a whole."

"Oh no, no, no, there is no whole," Draco informed her, sitting up. "You see, there's an 'us', and then there's a 'them'. In fact, there's a bunch of 'thems'. There's only one 'us', and that would be us, the people right here in the tent."

"I just meant – "

"Hermione, you might be trying to be all politically correct, but in this case, this is utter crap. We're not the same people as the ones who would be so interested in stealing from the goblins. That would be like saying we're the same people who would so love to get their hands on your family and torture them. That would be like saying we're the same people who let Fenrir Greyback run loose and nearly rape you! Or how about the Chief Death Eater? You think we're the same as him? Hmmm? DO YOU?"

"You were at one time," Hermione replied coolly.

Draco got to his feet so he was towering over her. She looked up at him, not even a hint of fear in her large brown eyes.

What he wanted to say – "Go to hell you fucking bitch" – wouldn't come out of his mouth, so he said the only thing he could: "Screw you."

And he stormed out of the tent.

Once outside, he began pacing, his breathing heavy. He wanted to punch something – no – he wanted to _**break**_ something. Maybe feel some pain. Yes, pain would be good.

He couldn't even explain his reasoning; all he knew was that at that very moment, he wanted to see his own blood, he wanted to feel the sting, to feel the pain, to feel _**something**_ other than complete anger.

Appropriately, the weather seemed to have changed with his mood. Dark gray clouds rolled over the sky, and a light drizzle began to fall, but he didn't give a damn. If anything, it just added to the situation. It just hammered in his emotions, and what he needed, all the more.

He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a pocket knife his father had gotten him for his thirteenth birthday, just incase he didn't have any steak knives around and he deeply needed a piece of meat. At least, that was what his father had told him. But it was moments like these when he wondered if his father had told him the whole truth, if that had even been the real reason why the knife had been purchased in the first place.

He plopped down in the wet grass and sat cross-legged. He gazed up at the sky, and got a face full of rain for his trouble.

Turning his attention back to the knife, he flicked it open, and gently ran his thumb across the blade. It was a light touch, just to see if it was blunt. It hadn't been sharpened in awhile, but it would easily cut through skin.

He pressed the blade to his palm, and, his heart thumping, his mind whirling, his breathing ragged, the slight weight of the blade pushed into his hand, he began to drag the knife across his flesh, leaving a thin line, bubbling with deep red blood. And it stung.

It took him all of five seconds to realize it hadn't worked.

None of his tension was released. Not a single ounce of his anger vanished. But at the same time there was something extremely satisfying about seeing his own blood, about watching as it dripped down his wrist, a sharp contrast to his paper-white flesh.

The rain was now coming down harder, and he winced as it seeped into the self-inflicted wound.

"Damn it!"

With as much strength as he could muster, he threw the knife as hard as he could, and he saw it arch high in the air, possibly up to fifty feet, and then slow down, sinking through the air like a stone in water.

"That's quite an arm you have."

He jumped, startled, and with a glance over his shoulder, he saw Hermione had come out to join him. "What the hell do you want?" he asked callously.

She slipped her hands into the baggy sweatshirt she had obviously just pulled on over her t-shirt. "I wanted to come out here and apologize. I was a bitch to you, and for that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up your past – erm – _**involvement**_ – with the death eaters and their leader. It was – it was more than a little unnecessary. It was just plain mean, and I know I hurt you, and I honestly didn't mean to, I said that without thinking. I was just frustrated, and I took my anger out on you, the same way you took your anger out on me."

"And I suppose you want an apology?" Draco demanded, his voice harsh and rough. "Well I got news for you Granger – there's no way in hell I'm apologizing to you. You're so eager to group us into equals – I'm all for that, it's cool, whatever. But the second you start clustering us all in with the people who supposedly drove the goblins into hiding several centuries ago, or begin comparing us to the bastards who really would want to steal the goblins' secrets – no, then you've gone too far. Because while we may be of the same race, of the same so-called 'birth' – " he held both of his middle and index fingers up in quotation marks – "we are not of the same category as those monsters. We are not of the same category as anyone. We are ourselves, we are of our own crowd, our own group, and feeling sorry and guilty for a bunch of idiots' past crimes isn't going to solve anything. All it's going to do is frustrate everyone else. And if you notice, Harry and Ginny weren't defending you in there. They obviously don't agree.

"Face it Granger, you're all about equal rights and everything, how we're all the same, but you go one step too far – you shove us all into the same fucking category as people who we have no connection with whatsoever. And you still haven't gotten over me being a death eater. Because no matter how much you talk about forgiveness, you're still holding my past crimes against me. Face it Granger – you're just like everyone else. You're no different. You can pretend otherwise, but when it comes to people making stupid mistakes that they later wish with all their heart and soul they could take back, you're every bit as much an elitist as I once was. The only difference is that with you, you believe that everything wrong in the world is the wizard's fault. You seem under the impression that the other races, goblins or otherwise, are completely innocent. Have you never thought to double check your facts? Do you just believe everything you read? Because books can lie Granger. They can lie.

"What's the matter?" he added mockingly as she just stood there, fists clenched, teeth grinding together, a truly livid look on her face. "Shocked? Horrified? Yeah, I know you think of the books as your surrogate best friends or whatever, but they can lie. They can lie just as easily as people can lie to you your entire life. They can believe that what they're sprouting is the truth, just like people can.

And then one day, you realize it was completely shit, and you've been sprouting it all your Goddamn life! And let's not get onto the topic of those friends who you think you can trust, but then one day, they turn around and use your past against you, just throw it at you, because they're losing an argument and they have a temper, and they want to hurt you."

"I told you!" Hermione screamed at him, her eyes blazing. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Oh, no, that's why you said the one thing you knew would hurt me the most. Because you were so concerned about my feelings. Granger, I've got news for you – you're every bit as mean as us evil Slytherins. You're just like those people who used to torment you at primary school."

"I got caught up! Like you said, I have a temper! And if I remember right, you used to torment me as well! You used to call me a – oh, what was that word again?" She snapped her fingers a couple of times, as if trying to remember. "Oh yeah! A _**mudblood**_!"

As her lips formed that word, Draco wanted to claw at his ears, scrape them right off of his head.

"But I suppose," Hermione continued on, her voice now a dangerous calm, "I could be the bigger person. I could just forget all those rumors I used to hear about you. You know, like how you're a man whore? How you'll do anything just to get in a girls' bed? Or how, according to Daphne Greengrass, you couldn't perform – but that might have been due to the fact that the Chief Death Eater was keeping an eye on you, I suppose. I mean, who can get turned on when they've got him breathing down your neck, making sure that you're carrying out your plans for killing someone to the fullest extent – "

"_**SHUT UP**_!" Draco heard the two words roar out of him, like they were tearing at his chest. "_**SHUT UP**_!"

"Wow, now aren't we witty?" Hermione replied, but her voice was now shaking. She had realized she had gone too far.

"You want to know just how pleasant it was to be a hit man for the red-eyed murderer? Hmmm? Take a look at this! _**Accio**_ knife!"

And his knife came soaring back to him, the blood still on the blade. He waved both the weapon and his cut hand in her face. "See? Is this enough punishment for you? You see what I tried to do to ease some of my guilt? Is self-mutilation enough of a punishment for you, or should I attempt suicide as well? You were so eager for me to a few weeks ago. You were even so generous as to hand me your knife so that I could slit my own throat. Thank you Hermione – you are truly the most self-sacrificing, charming, honest person in the world."

Hermione stared at his hand in shock, but just as she was opening up her mouth to speak, he roughly pushed past her into the tent.

The next few days were uncomfortably quiet. Draco had a disturbing feeling that he might have gone too far during their fight, the same way she had. Truthfully, once he had calmed down, he had realized he hadn't meant any of it – he had just said it to be mean. But that wasn't exactly a very good excuse. He knew he had wounded her deeply, and had probably set all of their progress back all the way to the moment when she, Harry, and the Weasel had been dragged into his house at wand point.

The thing was though, she seemed to be feeling guilty about what she had said as well. She would occasionally open her mouth, an apologetic expression on her face, but when she met his eyes, she would always press her lips back together and shake her head.

They didn't talk. In fact, they had virtually no contact. Mealtimes were silent, with Harry and Ginny sitting in-between Draco and Hermione, trying to bridge the silence by chatting fake airily about whatever they could think of.

September slowly melted into October, and with it came more rain, and colder weather, no matter where they went.

A month after the fight, after they returned from the Lupin's and Tonks' place for their weekly debriefing, Draco sat inside the tent with Harry, while the girls' sat watch outside. With Draco and Hermione's blow-out, the watch-pairs had been switched around, so that things would hopefully be a little less awkward. And of course, things were awkward to the fullest extent. The tension in the air was so thick they couldn't have cut it with the sword of Gryffindor even if they still had it.

"Draco," Harry began, putting aside the book he had been going through for the hundredth time in his desperation to find something on the Ragnuk family.

Draco looked up at him from the volume he himself was searching through without any hope.

"Yeah?"

"You and Hermione can't keep this up forever. Sooner or later something's got to give. Things are much too uncomfortable with you two not speaking."

Draco slammed the book shut. "And what do you propose I do about it Harry? I lost my temper, she lost hers, and things were said and brought up that should have been buried eight feet under the ground. Neither of us can take back what we said."

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "I know, Ginny and I heard everything that was said between the two of you. You both got pretty nasty, it was amazing. I didn't even realize Hermione had it in her to be that mean, it was terrifying. But that's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"We're fighting a war. We're all living in a tent together. Ginny and I can't keep trying to keep the tension at ease, it's starting to drain us. You two need to figure out how to forgive each other, and forgive yourselves, because otherwise all four of us are going to go crazier than the Chief Death Eater."

Draco sighed. "I suppose you're right. I just don't know what to do…"

"Well, tomorrow you and Hermione are going to have the tent all to yourselves so you can figure it out then."

"_**What**_? WHY?

"Because it's her great Auntie Muriel's birthday. Yesterday while the rest of us were helping Tonks with lunch, Lupin gave Ginny a letter from her mum, saying that if she didn't get her arse to the birthday party, she would personally come after us and strangle Ginny."

"So why are you going?"

"She wants to meet me," Harry replied with a shrug. "She met me at Bill and Fleur's wedding, but I was disguised, and she wasn't let in on the secret that I was there, so…Normally we would bring you and Hermione as well, but Ron's going to be there, and her aunt probably won't like you."

"Because I'm an ex-death eater?"

"Well, that, and I guess her family and the Malfoys have had some sort of feud going on for years."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "I've never heard of it."

"Yes, well, she's one-hundred-and-eight, as she's fond of reminding everyone, and has quite the memory. She also harbors a dislike for the French, and she's already pissed off because Bill's bringing Fleur to her birthday party, so bringing anyone else who she won't like would be too much of a risk."

"Hermione?" Ginny said cautiously as the two girls sat outside, wands drawn, on the alert for anything out of the ordinary.

"Hmmm?"

"You know you're going to be alone with Draco tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah, of course."

"You'll be okay, right?"

"Of course."

"I mean because you guys aren't talking. You won't even look at each other."

"Well, can you really blame us? You admitted you and Harry heard everything that was said. And let's face it; we both said some pretty horrible things."

"Yeah, but don't you think it's high time you two kiss and make up? It's been an entire month, aren't you tired of ignoring him?"

"I'm not ignoring him, he's ignoring me!"

"You're ignoring each other! But that's my point. Don't you think you two should forgive and forget? I mean, everything that was said was said in the heat of the moment. It was said out of anger. He snapped at you in the first place out of frustration, and then you retorted, once again out of frustration, and things just completely blew up in everyone's faces."

"I am perfectly aware of that."

"Neither of you meant what you said."

"Still. We can't take back what was said."

Ginny sighed, finally admitting defeat. "No, I suppose not."

The next morning right after breakfast Harry and Ginny exited the protective boundaries, under the safety of his invisibility cloak, and apparated to Ginny's great Auntie Muriel's recently reconstructed house.

Rain hammered down on the tent, and the atmosphere inside the tent was even stiffer and more awkward then it had been for the past month – Harry and Ginny had acted as mediators between Hermione and Draco.

They made lunch together, neither speaking, and ate it at the counter. Draco finished his sandwich first, and clearing his throat, said, "I'll take watch first."

Hermione nodded, keeping her head down, eyes focused on her sandwich. "Okay."

He walked outside and leaned against the side of the tent. Those were the first words he had spoken directly to Hermione in a good month.

_**My God, could things get any more strange**_? he wondered as he ran his fingers through his blond hair.

He stared out into the distance. They were camped in another set of fields, a couple of miles from civilization.

He pulled his knife out of his pocket and examined it. It was pretty basic, with a dark green cover, and a _**DM**_ engraved on it in silver. _**The House colors**_, he thought. No wonder he was the way he was. He had been taught to be who he was his entire life. He had been told he would be placed

in Slytherin, he had been _**trained**_ to be a Slytherin. _**Maybe everyone in that House was**_, he pondered. _**Maybe if our parents had been different, maybe we would have ended up as different people, in Houses that don't support the Dark Arts and discrimination against people who are a tiny bit different than us**_.

The more he thought of it, the more he found himself reflecting back to the fight he and Hermione had had.

_**We're complete opposites**_, he realized. _**She goes to one extreme to be equalize us to the point where she's cramming us all into the same category as thieves, and I go the other, where I separate us into such detailed groups that some people are considered to be the bottom of the pile**_ _**for nothing better than their parentage. But not anymore. I haven't done that in ages**_.

And it was the truth. He had changed, he had finally shaken his parents' beliefs. But once again, that came back to the twisted values, gruesome morals, they had instilled in him from day one. He could have decided that they just wanted to protect him from his father's fellow death eaters, but he doubted it.

They were just too set in their own insane ways to even consider that they might be wrong.

_**No wonder I turned out to be such a monster. No wonder I'm the way I am**_.

And just like that, the pain came crashing back down upon him once again, just as it had one month before.

Once again, the urge to feel the pain, to feel _**actual physical**_ pain, to see his own blood on his own skin, hit him like a punch to the stomach, and he flipped the knife open. Once more, he readied the blade against the palm of his hand, and sliced in, much deeper than before. He drew the knife in a line across his hand, slowly, and steadily, relishing the pain and at the same feeling sick by it. As the blade was pulled across his skin, blood immediately began to reach the surface, dripping down in a dark red river over his fingers and towards his wrist. He clenched his now stained fingers against the pain.

"Draco? Oh – " He spun around, and saw Hermione standing there in the doorway to the tent, in the same baggy sweatshirt that she had been wearing the day of their fight. She held a thermos, and was now looking a bit frightened. Her eyes darted from the blood-stained knife that Draco held in his right hand, to his bleeding left hand.

"What do you want Granger?" he demanded harshly.

She winced as if she had slapped her in the face, and he immediately felt his gut twist in guilt. He dug his nails into his skin even deeper.

"I just wanted to see if you want some hot chocolate." She held up the thermos. "And if you would mind if I sat watch with you?"

"Obviously I do mind," he responded, sounding much meaner than what he meant to. He knew he was being nasty for no reason, other than the fact that their fight had resurfaced in his mind, and he was also embarrassed about being caught cutting into his own hand. As well he should be.

"Sorry," she muttered, turning back around, to go back into the tent. She paused, and then whipped back around. "No," she said ferociously, "I'm actually not."

He stared at her as she moved towards him.

"I mean, I am sorry for everything I said before, I didn't mean it, I was just angry and frustrated, and I know you were too, but – "

"Haven't you figured it out?" he said, glaring back at her. "I don't want your apologies."

"Well, that's exactly what you're going to get. I don't care if you don't want to apologize to me, but I'm sick and tired of feeling guilty. I lost my temper. You lost yours. We're both a couple of idiots. Whatever. Let's get over it and move on."

"Granger – "

"No, don't you _**Granger**_ me. My name is _**Hermione**_, and that's what my friends call me."

"I – "

"And why the _**hell**_ are you cutting into your hand? _**Why**_?"

"Because it's the only way to even feel some satisfaction, to actually feel the pain that I've gone through! I can't handle emotional pain, I need it to be physical!"

Hermione took another step towards him, her eyes blazing. "You can't handle emotional pain? Well guess what moron, that's what you're going to get when you've been through everything you have. Yes, sometimes emotional pain hurts more than physical, but that's when you grit your teeth and try to focus on something else. Or else – here's an idea – you just DEAL WITH IT!"

"DON'T YOU THINK I HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH IT?" Draco shouted back at her. "EVERY SINGLE FUCKING MOMENT OF MY LIFE I HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHAT I'VE DONE, WITH WHAT MY PARENTS HAVE DONE! YOU THINK I'M THRILLED THAT THINGS HAVE TURNED OUT THE WAY THEY HAVE? I WISH EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT I HAD NEVER DONE THOSE THINGS! SOME MORNINGS I WAKE UP AND I HOPE WITH EVERY LAST FIBER OF MY BEING THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE I WAS SIXTEEN HAS JUST BEEN AN EXTREMELY LONG NIGHTMARE!"

"AND YOU THINK I DON'T WISH THAT THINGS WERE DIFFERENT?" Hermione screamed back. "YOU THINK I LIKE BEING OUT HERE, KNOWING THAT PEOPLE WHO I CARED ABOUT DEARLY ENDED UP DEAD? THAT MY PARENTS ARE OFF IN AUSTRALIA WITH NO MEMORY OF ME? THAT FOR ALL I KNOW THEY'RE DEAD, AND I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING?"

"SO WE'RE BOTH MISERABLE!" Draco yelled.

"YEAH, I GUESS WE ARE!"

"I'M SORRY!" he heard himself cry. "I'M SORRY!"

And that's when she grabbed him and pulled his face down to hers. Her hands rested on either side of his face, and she stared at him for a full five seconds, before pressing her lips to his.

He was so shocked that it took him a few seconds to respond, but once he realized what was happening, he was more than happy to kiss her back. It was rough, full of the anger and pain that they had both kept buried deep inside of them for so long, but at the same time it was a release for them.

Draco placed his hands on her hips, and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around him, just as she had done so many weeks ago. Was it really only weeks ago? Only a couple of months before? It felt like several lifetimes.

With her still in his arms, he managed to sink back down into the damp grass, and she settled in his lap, her lips still glued to his.

His cut hand was against her cheek, no doubt smearing her skin with his blood, and the rain was now coming out in bucketfuls, but neither of them seemed to care. In fact, neither of them was really aware of anything.

After what could have been several hours, they finally pulled away.

"Hermione," he murmured, stroking his thumb against her cheek. But he couldn't figure out what he should say. What he wanted to do was tell her just how much he cared for her, how he hadn't meant all those things he had said before, how he had never meant to hurt her, he just needed someone else to feel pain. But once more, just like when he had wanted to call her a bitch but hadn't been able to, the words refused to meet his tongue.

But this time was different. This time he couldn't say the words, not because he knew they would hurt her immeasurably, but because he wasn't sure _**he**_ could handle hearing them.

She stared into his eyes. "I know," she answered. "I feel the same way."

And he grinned and kissed her again, and he pulled his own zip-up sweatshirt around both of their bodies. She rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her, and for the first time in weeks, everything was peaceful – they were content. No, they were beyond content.

They were happy.

* * *

**_My, my, my, what an interesting chapter! Well? You guys love it? Hate it? I have a few chapter fun facts for you guys..._**

**_Fun fact #1: The entire time I was writing this chapter I was listening to Yellowcard's new single "For You and Your Denial"_**

**_Fun fact #2: The kiss was actually written right after Draco showed Hermione his hand during the first fight._**

**_Fun fact #3: I was originally planning on putting the kiss in after an attack, which I was considering sometime during the next few chapters (it might not be happening now!)_**

**_Fun fact #4: I decided after shutting down my computer last night, after thinking I had finished this chapter with the post-fight kiss, that it was too abrupt, that Hermione and Draco hadn't really had time to settle in with their crushes, and that not enough time had passed. So I stretched out their anger and embarrassment post-fight a month, and still managed to have them fighting. I also didn't want to take out the part about Draco's hand bleeding while they were in the middle of their kiss, so I had to put in another cutting scene._**

**_So, did the kiss surprise you? Was it to shocking? Too bold? I thought it was kind of made sense for them to kiss for the first time after a blow-out fight, because they bicker so often. So let me know what you think, because I love hearing from you guys! :)_**

**_Lots and lots of love!_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	23. Chapter 23

**_Finally! Finally! I finally got Chapter Twenty-Two written! I'm so sorry for the wait, I know it's been over a week! In my defense, I was studying like mad for an economics test and trying not to strangle my professor at the same time. Anyway, forgive me?_**

**_Disclaimer: If I was J.K Rowling, why would I be writing fanfiction stories that don't go with the epilogue? I think this proves that I'm not J.K Rowling._**

**_juventus: Thank you so much! You're right, she was delusional and he has a temper :)_**

**_Poliahu2496: Thank you! I intend to! :)_**

**_Linx: Thank you! Hmmm...That depends on your point of view :)_**

**_Slytherin224: Thank you very much! I'm so glad you liked the chapter! :)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! Yeah, the last chapter had a lot of drama :)_**

**_xoRetributionox: Thank you! You're welcome! :)_**

**_The Scratch Man: Thank you! Okay, I admit it, I loved writing Draco has a complete and total jerk, and it's kind of nice to hear that someone missed him acting like that. But yes, please read the previous chapters, it might make more sense that way :)_**

**_.17: Thank you so much! :)_**

**_LoonyMoony1396: Thank you very, very much! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story! I'll definitely try to keep it up :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you! Yeah, Draco was definitely acting a bit strange with the cutting part, but hopefully that'll only be a one-time deal :)_**

**_WasabiWarrior 101: Thank very much! Yep, that last chapter had a lot of ups and downs :)_**

**_And of course, a HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to everyone who hit the story alert button or favorited this story! It means the world to me! :)_**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two – Too Boring, Too Entertaining

Harry and Ginny were bored out of their minds.

There was no two ways about it. This had to be the most boring Weasley event in the history of most boring Weasley events. And since they were in fact the Weasleys and not, say, the Dursleys, there weren't many. The last Weasley family get-together had consisted of Bill and Fleur marrying, a bunch of drunken Weasley relatives, and a death eater attack.

Definitely not boring.

But this one was. Due to some sort of heart condition that Muriel apparently had, alcohol had been banned. Therefore, no drunken relatives. Entertainment number one – gone.

Fred and George were under the strictest of orders from their mother not to cause any trouble. There went entertainment number two.

Fleur Delacour was under even stricter orders from Bill not to annoy Muriel. So there was no entertainment number three.

Harry and Ginny stood around at the snack table, sipping from bottles of Butterbeer and snacking on little crab pastries whose name neither of them could pronounce. They also couldn't figure out if the name was French or Italian, but they almost had it figured out…

"It must be Italian, Auntie Muriel still has a grudge against the French. She sniffs and curses like crazy every time someone brings up Napoleon."

"Which one?" Harry asked Ginny.

"Both."

"What the bloody hell are these?" George demanded, holding up another kind of pastry that looked like a cross between a lobster claw and a beak of some sort of bird.

"Something else to make us want to leave early?" Fred suggested. "Crap, this party is so boring I lost my wonderful charming wit."

"It's not so much that you lost it, it just made an escape," Bill retorted as he and Fleur crossed the huge ballroom hand in hand.

"My goodneese," Fleur said, staring around the room in distaste. "Theese place could not be any tackier. Your great Auntie Muriel certainly has an – over exaggerated – taste een decorations."

Harry had to admit that this was very true. The room was bright gold, with silver symbols against the background. The chairs, the tablecloth, the floor, even the people, matched the design.

They had been given robes to don when they walked through the entrance to Muriel's house, and the pattern just happened to match everything else.

"When can we leeeaaave?" Fred moaned to George. "We came, we saw, we conquered, and now it's time to leave. It must be!"

George checked his watch. "Fred, we have been here for an entire fifteen minutes."

"WHAT? It feels like we must've been here for at least two weeks."

"I'm with you," Ron said as he walked towards them. He smiled a little sheepishly at Harry and Ginny. "Er, hey Ginny, Harry, long time no see."

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "I may not look threatening in this robe Ronald Billius Weasley, but let me tell you, I can still get your arse very easily and not even break a sweat. Want a taste of the _**Bat-Bogey Hex**_?" and she raised her wand pointedly.

Ron winced and took a step back. "Okay," he mumbled. "I deserve that."

"Damn right you do," Harry said angrily. "What the hell Ron? I know you're a new werewolf, but did you even _**try**_ to control your wolfish instincts with Hermione?"

"Of course I did." Ron shuffled his feet a bit.

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, I didn't, but you don't know what it's like!"

"Then tell me," Harry replied coolly, then looked around at Ginny. "Tell us."

Bill, Fleur, Fred, and George were all slinking away from the table, trying to look as inconspicuous as they could, a pretty easy feat considering that everyone else was dressed just like them.

Ron took a deep breath. "It's like – when your animal instincts take over, there's almost no in-between time. One minute you're completely human, and the next you have the mind of a werewolf."

Ginny tightened her crossed arms. "And what about that in-between time? You made it sound like you have at least a few seconds of realizing you're losing your human mind. Couldn't you fight it?"

Ron shook his head. "It's not enough time, and with Hermione – I went from human to werewolf in about a half second."

"Why?" Harry wanted to know.

"Animalistic instincts Harry," Lupin explained as he joined them. "Whatever Ron was doing with Hermione, it brought his inner werewolf out and roaring."

"So we're talking about my stupid brother lusting after one of my best friends, right?" Ginny demanded, a scowl on her face.

"Er, well, yes," Lupin answered, a bit uncomfortably. "In a manner of speaking."

"Fantastic. Bloody brilliant. Well, I'm out of here, I don't feel like spending any more time with a psycho."

"Ginny – " Ron groaned as Ginny shoved past him.

He reached for her arm, and she whipped it out of his grasp. "Leave me alone bastard!"

"Ginny," Harry began in a soothing voice, but he was interrupted by the sounds of the security wizard (courtesy of the Order of the Phoenix) who they had all been forced to check in with, yelling at an all-too familiar young woman who had apparently shoved right by him and was now running into the room.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? Ron!"

"Here I am sweetie," he said, and to the entire room's shock, he slipped his arm around none other than Pansy Parkinson's waist and kissed her on the lips.

The room was so quiet…"I think I just heard a feather drop," Fred muttered to the others.

"RON!" Harry yelled. "That is – ! That – that's Pansy Parkinson! You used to call her the Pug. She tormented us alongside – "

"Draco Malfoy," Ron finished for him. "Who you now have helping you on the search for the – the – you-know-whats," he finished quietly with a quick glance at the audience they were now gathering.

"Tell me," Pansy said coolly, arm around Ron's lower back as she turned to survey Harry and Ginny, "how is dear old Draco?"

"His parents were killed by the Chief Death Eater," Harry retorted. "What's your excuse?"

"My parents weren't enough help to him, so he ordered Fenrir Greyback to come after me."

"We're in the same werewolf colony," Ron mumbled awkwardly. "We kind of started to hang out and – "

"Wait, wait, wait." Ginny's eyes were very bright, fiery and blazing, and she had a look on her face as if she had just figured something out. "_**This**_ is the girl you've slept with? The one you stood up for when you and Hermione were fighting at headquarters? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"You stood up for me?" Pansy cooed. "Oh, Ronny, that's so sweet!"

"Gag me with a spoon," Harry muttered. "Ron – of all people! Pansy Parkinson! _**Why**_?"

"Isn't it obvious Harry?" Ginny asked icily. "She'll sleep with him. That's all he's interested in – getting laid."

"Excuse me?" Ron turned on Ginny. "Did you just call me girlfriend easy?"

"Yes. Because she is. She was the biggest _**slut**_ Hogwarts has ever seen!"

And Ron whipped his wand out and aimed a stunning spell at his sister, but she dodged out of the way.

Lupin winced. "Did I forget to mention that werewolves are very protective of their mates?"

They ignored him.

"Damn it Ron, don't make me hex you!" Harry yelled at him.

"Then get out of the way!"

Ginny threw a Bat-Bogey hex at Ron, but he blocked it and sent a Jelly-Legs jinx back.

With a sigh, Harry pulled his wand out and stepped in-between them. "I don't want to curse you," he informed Ron. "But if you insist on continuing this attack on my girlfriend, then I'll have to – "

"You'll have to what?" Ron demanded mockingly. "You'll stun me? Put a body-binding curse on me? Oh – even worse! You'll disarm me! Now wouldn't that be terrible?"

Harry walked towards him pointedly until they were nose-to-nose. "I can do a hell of a lot worse, and you know it," he threatened quietly. "So why the hell are you baiting me?"

"My bitch of a sister insulted my girlfriend!"

And that's when Harry punched Ron in the face.

George winced from where he stood off to the side. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt. Think we should get Harry some ice for his hand?"

"Well, maybe for Ron as well. I think Harry might have broken his nose," Fred replied.

"Do. Not. Call. My. Girlfriend. A bitch," Harry hissed at Ron.

"As long as she doesn't call my girlfriend a slut."

"Fine!" Ginny cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "This is ridiculous! Ron, I hate your girlfriend. But maybe she's not a slut. See? I'm waving the white flag!"

"You just don't want me to pound your boyfriend's face in," Ron snarled at her.

"Or maybe I just don't want him having to beat up my idiotic brother," Ginny retorted. "But who cares? I'm sorry for insulting your girlfriend, it won't happen again. If you want, Pansy and I'll head into the bathroom and giggle and gossip about you guys as we reapply our makeup and brush our hair. How about that?"

"I don't want her to associate with you," Ron snapped. "Not when you were the biggest whore in the fifth year."

Harry shoved Ron right up against the refreshment table. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he demanded. "Is this some new form of suicide? Bait enough people and eventually one of them will do you in?"

Ron threw Harry off of him and down to the floor, where he promptly leapt on him. The next thing anyone knew, the two teenage boys were rolling around on the floor, aiming punches and kicks at whatever body parts of the other person they could reach.

"And just like that, things finally got interesting," George commented as he took a sip of pumpkin juice.

Ginny turned to Pansy, who was staring at the two former best friends beating the crap out of each other. "Hey Parkinson, welcome to a Weasley family gathering." (A/N Yes, I know, Muriel isn't actually a Weasley, but there are plenty of Weasleys there, so I think Ginny would consider it to be a Weasley family gathering.)

"Why?" Hermione asked. "Why did you cut your hand?"

It was a full hour after they had kissed. The rain was still pouring down, and they were still sitting outside, but neither of them cared. Hermione was still leaning against Draco, his arms (and coat) wrapped around her, and up until she had spoken, things had been very quiet and peaceful.

He shifted a bit, and she turned her head to look back at him.

"It's only been twice," he began. "And both times you caught me."

"But why?"

"Have you ever been so angry that you can't think straight, that all you can feel is pain?"

Hermione nodded. "Of course."

"Well, for me, I need to feel actual physical pain, I need to be able to see it. That's where the cutting comes in."

Hermione twisted her entire upper body around. "Draco, I don't want to preach, and I'm sure you know this, but it's not healthy. It's one of the worst things you can possibly do to yourself. Please stop."

"I've only done it twice," he assured her. "I'm not addicted to it."

"Good," she said, and kissed him. "Let's keep it that way."

He deepened the kiss, fingers tangling in her wild hair.

It wasn't until thunder roared that they broke apart and figured they might as well go inside, and get dried off.

"So how do you think the birthday party for Ginny's Great Auntie Muriel is going?" Draco called to Hermione from the curtained-off section for boys' bunks, where he was changing into a fresh pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a flannel button up.

Hermione shuddered from the girls' side. She pulled a sweater over her head as she answered, "I met the woman at Bill and Fleur's wedding and trust me, she's the definition of a nightmare. I don't envy Harry and Ginny."

Draco rolled the sleeves of his top shirt up to his forearms and pulled the curtain back. "So they're having a miserable time?"

Hermione yanked her own curtain aside so that she was facing Draco from the opposite side of the room. "Oh, I imagine so."

Draco paused, clearly thinking about something. "How long do you think they'll be gone?"

Hermione shrugged. "With the extravagance I'm sure Muriel wanted for her birthday party – she is turning one-hundred-and-nine after all? Probably hours. Knowing her, she'll want every single party guest to write and speech and make a toast in her name."

"So they won't be back anytime soon?"

"Nope."

"So we have the tent all to ourselves?"

"My dear Mr. Malfoy, what are you intentions towards me?"

"Very dishonorable, I assure you."

"You are such a flirt."

"Ah, yes, but a lovable flirt."

"Yeah, you're pure _**amortentia**_."

"You're so sweet."

"And you're so full of crap."

Draco paused and smirked. He and Hermione had slowly been walking towards each other until they were face to face. "Yes, but you wouldn't like me otherwise. I'd be boring. And a boring Draco would be like having a sane Weasley."

"I think Ginny would beg to differ."

"You don't?"

"Don't what?" His fingers were now under her chin, and her mind was freezing up.

"You don't beg to differ that Weasleys are insane."

"I'm neutral."

"Of course you are," and then he pressed his lips to hers again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were so lost in the kiss that they didn't hear the voices coming from outside the tent:

"I'm telling you Harry, this is one party that's going to go down in the history of insane parties, it's something to be proud of."

"Oh, I don't know, considering the fact that I _**punched out**_ your older brother."

"Yes, and it was a very sweet thing to do – what the hell?"

Hermione and Draco pulled apart to find Harry and Ginny standing in the entrance to the tent, gazing at them with jaws nearly grazing the floor.

"So how was the party?" Draco asked in a would-be casual voice, his arms around Hermione's waist, Hermione's arms still around his neck. "Did you guys manage to steal a couple pieces of cake?"

"Is this your way of getting out of answering the all-too important question of 'since when do two snog each other senseless'?" Ginny wanted to know as she plopped down in an armchair, smirking.

"Yes, but it's also my way of finding out if I'm going to be eating cake later tonight."

"Oh, well, yeah, here you go," and from her purse she pulled out a small box. "I had to shrink it to get it to fit in my bag. It was our bribe to leave."

"What happened?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Harry threw himself in the chair beside Ginny's. "Do you remember Bill and Fleur's wedding Hermione?"

"Harry, the death eaters attacked."

"Right, well, you know how that was a total disaster?"

"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough – THE DEATH EATERS ATTACKED THE WEDDING!"

"Exactly. Well, just multiply the disaster by about fifty and you'll get the idea for the birthday party."

"Why?" Hermione asked worriedly. Draco sat down in another chair and pulled her down into his lap. Ginny's smirk widened. "Did death eaters attack the party?"

"No. Because that would have proved a distraction from the fact that I was brawling in public with my best friend."

"_**You did**_ WHAT?"

"Yeah, well, you see, for some reason, Ron's girlfriend showed up, we never did find out why," Harry explained. "And you will never _**believe**_ who his girlfriend is."

"Eloise Midgen? Ron was always fond of saying how her nose was off-center."

"Nope. Think horrible, skinnier, more Slytherin-ish."

"Sluttier," Ginny put in.

Hermione and Draco exchanged a horrified look before turning to stare at Harry.

"No way," Hermione breathed out.

"Not her," Draco added, and then together:

"_**Pansy Parkinson**_?"

"The one and only," Harry said grimly.

"That's the girl who Ron slept with? Who he defended when I called her a slut?"

"That's what I said!" Ginny cried.

"Wow," Hermione said. "I guess there's no accounting for taste."

"Yeah, I'm still trying to get my mind around the idea that he went from Hermione Granger to Pansy Parkinson. Talk about low standards," Draco snorted.

Hermione frowned. "_**You**_ dated her."

"And did I say I had particularly high standards? No. Obviously my standards have gone up quite a bit since I was sixteen, but when I was fourteen…" he shrugged. "What can I say? She was good for a quick snog before class."

Hermione made a face. "Thanks for that lovely description."

"Sorry."

"Well, either way, she got bitten by Fenrir Greyback, and now they're living in the same werewolf community," Harry stated.

"Sounds classy," Draco commented.

"But why did you punch him?" Harry asked.

Ginny cleared her throat awkwardly. "I, um, might have called Parkinson a slut, and Ron might have tried to curse and me, and he might have insulted me, and Harry might have defended me."

"There's a lot of 'might's in there," Hermione informed her.

"He called her a bitch," Harry told her. "He couldn't get away with that."

"Look, I shouldn't have called his girlfriend a slut," Ginny said. "But, I mean, come on! This is Pansy Parkinson we're talking about! We all know what she's like!"

"True," Hermione replied. "Well, what's done is done. Anyway, I'm sure you managed to liven up an otherwise boring party."

"Yeah, we definitely succeeded at that," Harry groaned. "God, people will be talking about that for years and years."

"But enough about the sorry excuse for a party," Ginny insisted. "Tell me, Hermione, Draco, what exactly is going on with you two?"

* * *

**_Okay, so another emotionally-charged chapter, but hopefully a little bit lighter than the last one :) This is definitely not my best work, but I think it'll work. Anyway, lots of name calling this chapter, and even a small, flirtatious exchange between Hermione and Draco!_**

**_Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter! I love hearing your opinions and what you hope will happen next! :)_**

**_Lots and lots of love,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	24. Chapter 24

**_Whew! I was beginning to think I would never get this chapter out! Anyway, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know it's been almost two weeks since I last updated, and this chapter isn't all that long either, but I've been busy with school, and I had some trouble with this chapter. Please forgive me?_**

**_Disclaimer: I wasn't J.K Rowling two weeks ago, and not much has changed since then - so no, I'm not her, nor do I own anything that has to do with Harry Potter._**

**_OBLuvr13: Thank you so much! Haha, I just wanted to put Ron with someone who he absolutely hated at Hogwarts. I'm glad you liked the fight, I wasn't too sure if I had written it okay :)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! Yeah, Fred and George are hilarious, I loved writing them. I'm hoping they brought some humor to the chapter :)_**

**_ireallyamtellingthetruth: Thank you very much! It's nice to know that my story isn't too serious, that would get depressing :)_**

**_Linx: Thank you so much! I'm really happy to hear you were laughing, I wasn't sure how much humor I got into the wedding scene :)_**

**_The Scratch Man: Thank you! Haha yep, seriously, Pansy Parkinson :)_**

**_LoonyMoony1396: Thank so much! :)_**

**_xoRetributionxo: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)_**

**_midnightstar4ever: Thank you very much! Oops, sorry, about the bursting out into laughter part ;) But it's nice to know you liked the chapter :)_**

**_Nimz: Thank you so much! And thanks for being patient! :)_**

**_WasabiWarrior 101: Because everyone's reaction to Ron and Pansy's relationship is priceless ;) Haha yeah, he can do better, and he did at one point *coughHermionecough* :)_**

**_sappheiros: Thank you very much! Haha, I imagine someone ended up with a major migraine but the time the party ended ;) Yeah, Draco's standards are definitely much higher. As for the question about the cake...:)_**

**_And THANK YOU to everyone who has story alerted, author alerted, and favorited this story! It means so much to me! :)_**

**_THANK YOU to everyone who has been patient :) If any of you were wondering, I haven't given up on this story, I'm just struggling with my Economics class, it's completely evil :) And sorry, it's not as long as I wanted it to be, but I'll explain more at the end of the chapter =D_**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three – Ragnuk the Thirty-Second

There was now silence in the tent as both Ginny and Harry fixed Hermione and Draco with their gazes.

"Well?" Harry poked on. "What's going on with you two? When we left, you guys wouldn't even look at each other, and then we walk into the tent, and there you two are, snogging the other's lips off."

"Doesn't he have a way with words?" Ginny sighed dreamily, patting Harry's hand.

"Yeah, he's a wordsmith all right," Hermione grumbled.

"So tell us," Ginny continued on. "What happened that made you two realize just how much sexual tension you have?"

"We didn't do anything that made us realize we have sexual tension!" Draco yelped, startled.

"Well, something must have happened, since as my dear boyfriend put it, you two were snogging each other's lips off."

"Yes, but the way you made it sound – I mean, that is to say – don't say things like that!"

Ginny smirked. "Awfully jumpy, isn't he? You'd think he has something to hide. Wait – you two didn't – "

"NO!" Hermione and Draco screamed at the same time.

"Ginny," Hermione informed her, "you're crazy. And please stop with the innuendos, it's very embarrassing."

Ginny shrugged. "Oh, all right. But I've got to get my kicks somewhere."

"Why Harry, don't tell me you're not being the sweet attentive boyfriend that she's always said you've been," Draco snorted.

"Would you like me to hex you?" Harry called over to him.

"Ah, you wouldn't do that – you still want to know what's going on with Hermione and me."

"Yeah, but she can still tell me even if you resemble a slug."

"If you turn him into a slug I'll hex you into a jellyfish," Hermione threatened.

"Okay, okay!" Ginny cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Let's stop with the threatened violence! Hermione, Draco, just tell us what happened!"

"We'll tell you as soon as I get my cake enlarged," Draco replied.

"Hey!" Hermione protested. "You're sharing the cake!"

"Oh, all right, fine."

"So hurry up and enlarge the cake," Ginny prodded Draco.

"Fine," Draco said again, and reached around Hermione, grabbing the box from Ginny. He tapped it with his wand and said, "_**Engorgio**_."

At once the box grew to the size it originally was, but instead of stopping the spell, Draco let it keep on growing.

"What?" he asked when Hermione twisted around in his lap to raise her eyebrows at him. "I'm just making sure we have enough cake for everyone."

She snorted. "Likely story."

"You distrust my loving and giving nature? Why Hermione Granger, you have no idea how much that pains me." To emphasize this, he placed his hand over his heart and gave her a wounded look, his bottom lip sticking out in a pathetic pout.

Hermione giggled and leaned in to kiss him in apology.

"Were we like that when we first got together?" Harry muttered to Ginny, looking horrified. "Because if we were, I can see why Ron always looked so sick around us."

By this time the cake had fallen off of the chair arm that Draco had balanced it on, and was now the size of a large cauldron.

Ginny cupped her hand around her mouth. "Oi! If the cake gets much larger, we won't be able to fit into the tent!"

Draco pulled back from Hermione long enough to remove the enlarge-ing spell on the cake, and then went back to kissing her.

Harry and Ginny didn't get their answer from Hermione and Draco for nearly an hour, but finally they all settled around the counter with a piece of strawberry cake with chocolate and vanilla frosting, and Ginny cleared her throat. "So how did you two end up all lovey-dovey?" she asked them.

"Oh," Hermione said, shifting a bit on her stool. "Well, we – "

"Had a blowout fight," Draco continued on from where Hermione had broken off. "My voice will never be the same again. And then – "

"We calmed down and kissed and made up," Hermione finished with a shrug.

Ginny smirked. "You two are aware that 'kiss and make up' is just an expression, aren't you?"

Hermione let out a deep, heavy sigh. "Yes Ginny, we already know that."

"Good," Harry said, looking over at Draco. "Because when I told you that you needed to 'kiss and make up' with her, I didn't meant it literally."

Draco airily took another bite of cake. "I know. But honestly, this way is so much better."

* * *

They had not forgotten about the search for the Ragnuk family house – they spent nearly every waking moment on it that they possibly could. They had borrowed volumes and volumes of books from almost every member of the Order, but it wasn't until two days after Muriel's birthday party that they finally found success.

Draco was paging through a thick, dusty book with a mahogany color cover that they had borrowed from Dedalus Diggle, who had a great interest in lineage, when he came across mention of the sword of Gryffindor.

"Oh my God!" he cried. "Everyone – listen to this!" and he began to read aloud:

"_**The sword of Gryffindor, while infamous for belonging to its namesake, the infamous Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of the legendary educational establishment, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is rarely considered for its true value. It is worth so much, being one of the few remaining swords that was handcrafted by Goblins in what is now known as the dark ages (from 476-800 AD), a time that, for all of Europe, whether for the muggle or magical societies, was very dreary. However, the Goblins, in contrast to the rest of Europe, were at their peak, designing and crafting weaponry, food utensils, tapestries, really anything that could be considered both decorative and practical.**_

"_**While they preferred to do business with their own kind, Goblins on the occasion would agree to sell one of their priceless items to a witch or wizard, and perhaps one of the most famous transactions between Goblins and wand-carriers was the one between Ragnuk the First and Godric Gryffindor. Legend has it that Gryffindor heard of a rumor of a beautiful, ruby-encrusted sword, forged by a Goblin, and so one evening, he apparated to the small wizarding village of Mountain Shadow, where Ragnuk and his kin were currently living.**_

"_**The details of what happened that night are quite blurry, but no matter the technicalities, Godric Gryffindor walked out of the small cottage carrying what would later be christened the Sword of Gryffindor, and Ragnuk had a large pouchful of galleons that he would soon use to buy a donkey with**_…" Draco looked up at the others. "I know it's not a fantastic lead, but it's the first one we'vegotten."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Goblins apparently don't like change very much, so the Ragnuk family might still be living in Mountain Shadow. And even if they aren't, it can't hurt to apparate there and have a look around."

Hermione was already rifling through a map of wizarding Great Britain. "Here it is!" she cried, jabbing a tiny dot with her right index finger. "It's up north, just south of Scotland."

"So it'll be cold?" Ginny said.

"I expect so."

"All right," Harry put in, also taking a look at the map. "I say we head up to Mountain Shadow now, and have a poke around, see if the Ragnuk family still lives there."

The others all agreed, so they packed up and apparated to the edge of the village.

They appeared in the midst of a bunch of trees that lined the village.

They peered around the trunks and through the branches, taking in the sight. It was small, with several small clusters of buildings. The buildings appeared to be wooden with thatched roofs, and the size of a large cottage, at best. There was no sign that Goblins could or would make such valuable goods as the Sword of Gryffindor.

"Goblins like to live simply," Hermione hissed to the others. "At least, on the outside. It's all for show. But they have their treasures locked away, where no one can get to them."

"Paranoid little pixies, aren't they?" Draco commented darkly. "You'd think people rode into town and raided their houses on a daily basis."

"Well, it did use to be dangerous for them after all," Hermione informed him as she shoved her hair out of her face, trying to see over a low branch a little bit better. "Wizards and witches didn't have much respect for them. We have more now, but that has more to do with them running Gringotts then anything else."

"'We'?" Draco prompted, cocking an eyebrow at her, and she winced.

"Sorry. _**They**_. _**They**_ have more respect now, because of Gringotts."

Draco nodded in satisfaction and turned back to eyeing the village.

"So the simplicity of the outside was to show the raiders that they didn't have anything worth stealing?" Harry said to Hermione.

She nodded. "Uh huh. Of course, I expect they have plenty of places to hide all their treasure; they're sneaky, Goblins."

"That they are," Harry growled, cracking his knuckles. There was no doubt he was remembering how Griphook had double-crossed them – not only had he stolen the sword, which would have been bad enough, but he had sold them out to the ferocious Goblins when they were inside of Gringotts.

"Okay," Ginny piped up, interrupting Harry's furious thoughts, "what now? Do we just ask around for the Ragnuk family?"

"It's worth a shot," Harry said with a shrug. "The worst that'll happen is they'll run us out of town with pitchforks and torches."

Draco flinched. "Famous last words."

They crept out as stealthily as possible from behind the trees and crossed the dirt road that separated the woods from the village.

Goblins were milling around, going from shop to shop, often sitting behind horses pulling carts as they lugged some of the larger wares through the streets.

Hermione couldn't help but be reminded of a slightly cruder, simpler version of Diagon Alley. The entire village seemed to be out and about, bustling up and down the streets, coming in and out of shops, shouting greetings to each other in Gobbledegook, even snacking on piece of liver that looked suspiciously raw as they made their way through the crowds.

"I guess we should start at a sword shop, since Ragnuk the First crafted swords," Hermione said reasonably as they parted through a horde of Goblins, all of whom turned to stare incredulously and a little haughtily at what had to be the only humans for miles around.

Draco grabbed the first Goblin who was walking by himself.

"What do you want?" the Goblin squeaked indignantly as he pulled his spindly arm out of Draco's grasp.

"Do the Ragnuks still have a sword shop?" Draco asked politely. "I heard they're the best at the craft, and we're in desperate need of a sword."

_**Nice cover story**_, Hermione thought, beaming at Draco proudly.

The Goblin nodded. "Of course. You turn left up at the Pullchuks' crystal shop, and it will be the second building on the left."

"Thanks," Draco said, and grabbed Hermione's hand, dragging her along the street. Harry and Ginny rushed along after them, dodging past groups of Goblins.

"There's Pullchuk's," Draco said, pointing at the wooden sign that hung from the front of a shop. They made a sharp left and continued on down a slightly more narrow street, to the second building.

"There it is!" Hermione gasped out. "Ragnuk's Sword Craftsmanship – Since 871 AD! Here we are!"

They crashed in through the front door, and the Goblin at the front desk looked up in alarm at the four humans.

The entire place seemed to be furnished with dark mahogany wood. Swords hung from the walls, sat on shelves, and laid in cases all over the shop.

"Excuse me, but are you a Ragnuk?" Harry asked, stepping forward.

The goblin nodded. "Ragnuk the Thirty-Second. Why?"

"Could we by any chance go someplace private? I need to talk to you about the sword that your great-great-great-great-great – that Ragnuk the First sold to Godric Gryffindor."

The goblin's papery face seemed to pale. "O – of course. Certainly. M-my family and I live upstairs, above the shop. We can go there."

He walked out from behind the counter, and crossed the shop. He pulled the shades down to cover the windows and locked the door. "Come with me."

He led them behind the counter to a backroom which in turn led to a dark, rickety staircase. They climbed the narrow steps, and finally reached what could have been an apartment building's hallway. It was dark, and the floor creaked, but there were several doors all along the corridor.

"Is it just your family that lives here?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes," he answered as he led them to the third door on the right. "But we all have our separate quarters – four in total."

He opened the correct door and they all piled inside. "This way."

They walked through the entrance hall to an abnormally large sitting room. A fireplace took up one wall, and several framed paintings covered another.

"Well, sit down anywhere," Ragnuk said, gesturing to the small chairs that a ten year old would not be able to sit in. "But of course, you are humans, and much taller, so perhaps you would prefer the floor?"

Wordlessly they sank down onto the hard wood. Ragnuk positioned himself in a cozy-looking armchair, a pipe stuck in his mouth. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

Harry leaned forward. "In May, the Sword of Gryffindor disappeared. I was wondering if you had any idea where it ended up at."

Ragnuk straightened up in the chair. "My dear young man, what on earth makes you believe that I have any idea where the sword is?"

"Because it was taken from us by a Goblin, and we think he may have returned it to you," Harry answered. "He believes it rightfully belongs to you, rather than any Gryffindor who pulls it out of the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts. We know your customs and beliefs, we know that goblins believe that Godric Gryffindor borrowed the sword, because there is only one true owner, and that is the maker of the sword."

"Correct. So it would be Ragnuk the First."

"Yes, but he's no longer alive. So surely the ownership would be passed down to you?"

Ragnuk's eyes were now dark, but with what, it was not clear. "His heir. His eldest son or daughter."

"Yes, but are you his oldest heir at the moment?"

Ragnuk bowed his head. "Indeed I am."

"So do you have the sword?"

He looked up at Harry furiously. "I do, and I see no reason why you are so interested in it!"

"We need it – we need it to destroy Vol – I mean the Chief Death Eater."

"No, I can't help you. The Goblins are remaining neutral in this wizard war of yours. I refuse to give you the sword. You cannot have it, and that is my final word."

* * *

**_So how was the chapter? It's definitely NOT my favorite, but I wanted to get it posted. I wanted it to be longer - I was planning on showing the aftermath of Ragnuk's refusal, but I figured I'd better put it up as is, because who knows how long it'll take for me to write the next part? Hopefully soon, but I'm not sure._**

**_Anyway, let me know what you think! I know I say this at the end of every chapter, but I mean it: I LOVE HEARING FROM EVERYONE! 3 3 3 3 3_**

**_Lots and lots of love,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	25. Chapter 25

**_YES! I finally got Chapter Twenty-Four up! I know, I know, it's been over a month, but once again, I had a block with this chapter, plus I've been busy with my college class (which I just finished yesterday!) and my new Harry Potter fanfiction story. It's a Hermione/George fic, so if you like the pairing, please go and check it out! Hopefully I'll be able to shake this block soon and I'll update more often._**

**_In advance, I'm sorry if this chapter feels a bit rushed or isn't as well written as some of the other ones. I was really struggling with this chapter for some reason, and it was written in bits and pieces over the course of the past month. But I hope you guys will like it okay =)_**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not J.K Rowling, nor do I own Harry Potter, because if I did then I would probably be spending about ninety percent of my time on iTunes, buying songs like crazy. Obviously I'm not, since I'm writing fanfiction ;)_**

**_xoRetributionox: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! Well, you're going to find out their new plan in this chapter...;)_**

**_ice cold wolf: Wow, thank you so much, that's amazing! Sorry this update took so long, but I hope you like this chapter :)_**

**_cazares.a: Thank you! :)_**

**_WasabiWarrior 101: Haha yeah, Goblins can be *extremely* annoying. Well, they will be coming up with a new plan...;)_**

**_Loslote: Thank you! I don't know, I can't see the Goblins being too thrilled with the idea of the Sword of Gryffindor being used to stab anything...they are overly protective of their work after all...:)_**

**_sappheiros: Yeah, being nice at first and then turning out to be kind of mean and selfish must be a Goblin thing...or maybe it's just the way I see them...Hehe I wanted cake so badly after I wrote the part with Draco, Hermione, and the cake...Thank you! And don't they always have a new plan? :)_**

**_And if I missed anyone, I'm really sorry, I just recently switched to a new e-mail address, so I might have missed a review or two..._**

**_And of course a HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to everyone who story alerted, favorited, favorited authored, and author alerted this story or me, that means so much to me!_**

**_ENJOY THE CHAPTER! =)_**

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four – Break Ins and Attacks

"So what do we do now?" Draco wanted to know as they walked out of the building and into the street. The crowds seemed to have thinned out a bit, and this particular road was empty except for the four teenagers.

Harry bit down on his lower lip. "I was really hoping we wouldn't have to resort to this _**again**_, but I don't think we have a choice."

"Resort to _**what**_ again?" Ginny demanded, hands on her hips.

Harry glanced around, making sure that no one was in sight, and then said, "Stealing."

"_**What**_?" Hermione cried. "Are you out of your mind? Wait – yes – you are! _**You want to steal the effing Sword of Gryffindor**_?"

Wordlessly, Harry nodded.

"Okay, let me review this and make sure I've understood you right," Hermione said, taking deep breaths in and out. "You want to go back into the flat, which, coincidentally, belongs to a Goblin family; completely disregard Ragnuk's wishes; go through his family's belongings, which I'm sure is booby-trapped with every protection known to the Goblin species, and then just walk out of there with the sword – let me know when this starts sounding dangerous."

Harry heaved a huge side. "Look Hermione, I don't like the idea anymore than you do – "

" – Is that even _**possible**_?" she shrieked.

" – but we need the sword a lot more than we need the Goblins' love."

"Tell me Harry, do you listen to yourself when you speak, or is all you hear one huge roar?"

He glared at her. "Think about it Hermione. They don't give a damn about us, or any other wizard for that matter, so why should we care what happens to them? They're not weak, defenseless creatures, they can take care of themselves just fine. And if you still want to be a martyr, then just think of it this way – if we steal the sword, we'll be able to take care of the horcrux, and the other ones, once we get our hands on them, and then the Chief Death Eater will never go after them and kill them all."

Hermione let out a huffy breath. "Fine! But we're only borrowing it, we'll return it once we've finished, right?"

"Assuming we live, you mean, then yes, I myself will personally return it with an apology card and a basket of muffins. Think they like blueberry?"

Hermione scowled at him. "Let's get on with it. You heard Ragnuk, they have four separate living quarters on that floor."

"Hey, can I make a small suggestion?" Draco asked, looking around.

"It depends – am I going to have to bake you blueberry muffins too?"

"I prefer chocolate chip cookies personally. Or maybe cheesecake?"

"I'll be sure to remember that. I myself am a treacle tart eater, but I think muffins are what people tend to carry in baskets."

"Well, I dunno. I mean, there's picnic baskets, which always has sandwiches in them, and – "

"What was your suggestion Draco?" Hermione asked in a would-be calm you-two-have-impressively-low-attention-spans-if-you-don't-stop-now-I-am-going-to-knock-your-heads-together voice.

"Oh, yeah – I was about to say we should go back to the woods instead of, you know, making plans to break into a Goblin's home in the middle of a Goblin street in front of said Goblin's home."

"Good point," Hermione agreed. "Come on, let's go."

They trekked back through the town and into the woods. They set up the usual protective spells, but didn't bother with the tent – they had no plans to sleep in it, in those woods, that night.

The plan was for Harry and Ginny to wear the invisibility cloak, and for Hermione and Draco to be under a disillusionment charm, and for all four of them to sneak back into town and to the Ragnuks' building. Harry and Ginny would take Ragnuk the Thirty-First's place, as well as the flat next to his, and Hermione and Draco would take the Ragnuk family members who lived across the hall.

It was nearly midnight when Harry and Ginny donned the invisibility cloak, and Hermione and Draco performed the disillusionment charm. They crept back through the streets, winding around buildings and through alleyways until they finally reached the sword shop.

"So if alarms go off when we break in we'll set off one of the decoy detonators," Harry hissed to the others.

"Let's just hope the alarms don't go off," Hermione replied in a whisper. "We don't know what kind of ancient Goblin defensive magic has been set up to ward off intruders."

"You're just a ball of sunshine aren't you?" Draco replied.

"I'm just practical," she retorted, the darkness shadowing an offended look on her face.

Harry stepped forward – although they couldn't see that. All they could see was a wand floating in midair. It tapped the doorknob, the sound of Harry muttering under his breath, and then there was a click, and the door opened slowly with a squeak.

"Well, that shouldn't attract too much attention," Draco muttered, just loud enough for Hermione to hear. She elbowed him in the ribs, and snapped, "Shut up!"

"Shhhh, keep your voice down."

"Stop talking!"

"Why? You still are!"

"Are you purposefully trying to be annoying?"

"Who says I have to try?"

"So you were born with this urge to annoy people on a regular basis."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"You are so insufferable!"

"It's nice to know you guys are still capable of bickering even when you're glued together by the lips," Ginny said from where she was being dragged into the shop by Harry.

Hermione heaved out a huffy sigh and grabbed Draco by the elbow. "Come on, let's get this done and over with."

They crept through the dark shop and snuck up the stairs to the hallway.

"Now remember, if you run into any Goblins, stun them and then erase their memories," Harry hissed at Hermione and Draco as they paused outside the first door.

"Yes Professor, we know the plan," Draco replied dryly.

"Good luck," Harry hissed back at them, and together, the four of them tapped the doors and murmured, "_**Alohomora**_."

Much to everyone's shock, the doors clicked open at once – they had been expecting more protection around the door.

"Maybe it's a trap," Ginny whispered.

Hermione conjured a pillow out of thin air and threw it into the room. Nothing happened. No explosions, or alarms, or anything. Just silence.

"This is eerie," she muttered, but, holding tightly to Draco's hand now, she crept forward into the room.

There was still total quiet, and no sound of anyone moving.

"_**Homenum Revelio**_," Hermione murmured. Nothing, except a warmth that seemed to be

coming from down the hall. "No one's here but us and the Goblin family. Hang on – _**Muffliato**_!"

"So we're good, they won't hear anything?" Draco confirmed, and Hermione nodded.

"Okay, let's begin searching."

They began looking through the flat, lifting up sofa cushions, pulling down paintings, even checking up the chimney. Nothing.

"You know, we're going to have to search the backrooms, don't you?" Draco finally said as he pulled his head out from the fireplace.

Hermione sighed. "Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Come on, and be ready to stun them."

She led the way to the backrooms and they continued on trying to find the sword. After they had combed through the dark rooms as best as they could, they took one look at each other and tip-toed to the room that only be the bedroom.

There was one bed, large for a Goblin, small for a human, and there lie two Goblins, obviously husband and wife.

Hermione renewed the _**Muffliato**_ spell and they continued their search.

"You know," Draco muttered to her, "I feel like a pervert, going through their room while they sleep so soundly and peacefully, unaware that we're here."

Hermione winced. "Gee, thanks, now I feel like a creep too."

Several more moments of looking later, Draco stepped back and brushed his hands together.

"I think we've covered the entire flat. The next one?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They left the flat and broke into the next one. Once again, it was much too easy, like the Goblins wanted people to break in. Which didn't exactly make either of them feel all too secure.

Hermione cast the _**homenum revelio**_ charm again. Nothing.

She and Draco exchanged shocked glances. Somehow that didn't bode well with them.

They walked through the flat, searching. There was no sign of the sword.

"Come on, we better check the backrooms," Hermione said, tugging on Draco's arm. They padded softly to the back, checking through the bathrooms and the smaller of the two bedrooms, before heading into the master bedroom.

There were two Goblins lying in bed, sleeping peacefully.

"That's odd," Draco commented with a frown. "Why didn't _**the homenum revelio**_ charm work?"

Hermione shrugged, and performed the _**Muffliato**_ spell – she didn't want to ponder questions at the moment when they were supposed to be looking for something. They searched under the bed and in drawers; they rifled through the wardrobe and under the floorboards, until they were forced to admit that the sword wasn't anywhere in the flat.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Hermione spoke for the first in the fifteen minutes as she got up off of her knees. She brushed the back of her hand against her forehead and ended up smearing dirt against her skin.

Draco smirked and was about to point that out to her when his eyes picked up something they hadn't before: The Goblins weren't breathing.

"Err…Hermione? I – I think – the reason why _**homenum revelio**_ didn't work before – is because – because – you need to be alive for the – the – the spell to work on you…"

In the dim moonlight that shined in through the netted curtains Draco could see Hermione's face pale. "Wha – what?" she choked out.

"They're dead," Draco whispered. He pulled the blankets back and gasped at what he saw: The bedclothes were soaked with blood, as were the Goblins' nightshirts. "It looks like they've been stabbed through…"

"With a sword?" Hermione suggested, her voice hoarse.

"Let's hope not. C'mon, we need to go get Harry and Ginny."

They trekked back out of the flat, locking the door, and snuck back across the hall. But just as they reached the correct door, something knocked Draco down, sending him toppling to the floor.

"_**STUPEFY**_!" he heard Hermione scream and he readied his own wand, sending a body-binding spell in some random direction – his head had hit the wall pretty hard, and he was dizzy. Everything was upside down and spinning uncontrollably.

"_**CRUCIO**_!" a woman's voice screeched and Hermione's pain-crazed screams tore through the air like a bloody knife.

Draco blinked back the blood that had dripped in his eyes and saw Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodulphus Lestrange, Augustus Rookwood, and Antonin Dolohov.

"_**SECTUMSEMPRA**_!" Draco roared, aiming for Bellatrix. She spun out of the way just in time, but her concentration was broken. Hermione laid on the floor, shaking and shivering, staring up at her tormentor.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Harry demanded as he and Ginny ran out of the flat, wands drawn. There was a split second of silence and then curses cut through the air, bodies flew up against the wall, and blood splattered everywhere.

There was confusion, utter confusion. They were blinded by the light of the spells so it was hard to aim properly. The four teenagers fought tooth and nail, sending spell after spell, curse after curse, and jinx after jinx at the death eaters, until…

"_**SECTUMSEMPRA**_!" Harry and Draco yelled at the same time, aiming for Dolohov. It caught him in the chest and ripped it in half, so that blood and tissue swam out.

Bellatrix, Rodulphus, and Rookwood stared at Harry and Draco, shocked at the fall of one of their most powerful fighters.

"Come on, let's go!" Rookwood finally cried. "There's no point, we'll all be killed if we stay here, let's go!" he grabbed the two Lestranges by the hands and twisted on the spot, apparating out.

Harry and Draco both sank to the floor in a pool of Dolohov's blood.

"We – we – we k – k – k – killed him," Harry chattered out, shaking.

Draco wrapped his arms around his knees, burying his face in them. All he could feel was shock and numbness, coupled with a fierce headache.

"You had no choice, it was self-defense," he heard Ginny murmur to Harry. "He was evil, and you had no choice."

Draco was aware of Hermione sitting down next to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"If you hadn't taken him out, we probably wouldn't be alive right now," she whispered.

"I know," he replied. "I know. I'm fine. Everything's good."

He jerked out of Hermione's embrace and got to his feet, wiping Dolohov's blood off of him as best he could.

"So did you two find the sword?" he directed at Harry and Ginny.

Ginny shook her head. "No, the Goblins were dead in bed." She wiped a tear mixed with blood away from her face.

"They were dead in the second flat we went into," Hermione told Ginny. "I think the death eaters must have gotten to them before we got there."

"That's the logical solution anyway," Harry put in. "But then why weren't any of us killed upon entering? Why did they only appear when you two walked back into the corridor? Why were the defenses down so low? Why were only four of the eight Goblins killed? That doesn't make any sense."

"Those are good questions," Hermione said slowly. "Extremely good questions…"

"So we have no sword, and we have four dead Goblins on our hands, along with appears to be a brutally murdered death eater," Draco summed up. "What now?"

A slow smile crossed Ginny's face. "I don't know what we do about the dead Goblins or Dolohov, but I think I might know where the sword is. Come on."

She led them back downstairs and into the main part of the shop. "Doesn't it just make sense for the sword to be in here, hidden among all of the other swords? It might be disguised, but whatever it looks like, it has to be one that can't be bought."

"The ones in the display case!" Hermione cried out. "They're probably just supposed to be examples – they're probably antiques!"

She spun around and directed her wand at the case. "We have to blast it open…On the count of three – one – two – _**three**_!"

"_**REDUCTO**_!"

The case blasted open, and they hurried over. They immediately began tapping their wands against swords, trying every spell that they could think of, but to no avail.

"I s'pose we'll just have to try every single one of them out on the horcrux," Harry suggested.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Hermione agreed. "Until then…"

"We need to get these swords out of here," Draco finished.

"Put them in here," Hermione ordered, holding out her bag. "They'll fit, I have an extension charm on it, remember?"

"Right, of course." Draco grabbed the nearest swords (Merlin they were heavy!) and dropped them in the bag.

Hermione winced at the added weight, but a moment later her expression cleared and she smiled. "Good, it's still working."

Draco, Harry, and Ginny loaded Hermione's bag with the swords, before dropping a bunch of coins on the counter, and apparating out to their next destination.

* * *

**_So what'd you guys think? I know, I know, it wasn't the best chapter in the world, but I did my best with it. So let me know what you think, and if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them!_**

**_With spring break, hopefully I'll be able to update soon, but I am going to be busy over the next couple of weeks...I have my eighteenth birthday this weekend, plus my celebration with my friends, hanging out with friends, spending time with my parents...But I'll do my best to update, and if you're reading "My Brother's Girlfriend" (that would be my Hermione/George fic) I'm working on the next chapter, and will hopefully update that story within the next few days as well!_**

**_Lots and lots of love,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


	26. Chapter 26

**_Hi everyone! Ummm...sorry? I know, I know, it's been ages (over a month!) since I last updated, but I've been busy with school and other committments and such, so...Forgive me?_**

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, that would make me J.K Rowling. I can state with all honesty that I am not her. Plus, why on earth would Ms. Rowling be on , writing Dramione fics? She obviously preferred Ron and Hermione together, since they ended up that way in the books. =)_**

**_Loslote: Well thank you very much! I'm glad you liked the battle scene! =)_**

**_xoRetributionox: Thank you very much! My class actually turned out pretty well in the end. Yeah, you would think that they would wake up during the course of the fight...Well, maybe this chapter will explain things a little bit ;) Yeah...I think Harry's the one with the most experience with swords, and seeing as how he hasn't had to use one since "The Chamber of Secrets"...Thank you! =)_**

**_OBLuvr13: Thank you! I didn't update as soon as I would have liked, but hopefully this chapter will clear up some of your questions! =)_**

**_Ks21178: Thank you! I loved writing out that scene, so I'm really happy that it made you laugh! Hmmm...I can't promise that, since this is a T-rated fic, but I'll try to up the fire between them =)_**

_**And of course...A HUGE THANK YOU (plus virtual chocolate ice cream pie) to everyone who story alerted/favorited this story! I appreciate it so much!**_

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five – The Tent Has Thin Walls

They landed with a hard thump on the grassy hill. The air was cold, the sky was dark, and the wind was howling ferociously, as if determined to rip the ground up.

"_**Ow**_," Draco moaned, rubbing his head. He felt something wet and gooey matted into his hair and when he pulled his hands away, he could just barely make out a dark substance.

At once Hermione as by his side, rummaging around in her bag, trying to get the Dittany out from the very bottom of the purse.

"I'm fine," he insisted, but she shook her head.

"Your head is bleeding. I doubt you're ready to go and play jump rope."

"That was a terrible analogy."

"Live with it and shut up," Hermione snapped. "And don't move, I need to clean the wound."

"Er…guys?" Ginny piped up. "Can we maybe do this inside, once we've got the wards up?"

"Oh…yeah…" Hermione pulled her wand back out from her jeans pocket.

Draco attempted to stand up, but Hermione pushed him back on the ground.

"You stay there," she ordered him. "You're injured, you shouldn't be moving."

"Were you this irritating last time I got hurt?" Draco muttered, but nonetheless he obeyed her and remained sitting on the ground, watching as the others performed the protective spells that would shield them from anyone, muggle or wizard, wandering up the hill.

Ten minutes later he was lying on his bunk as Hermione dabbed at his head with a warm wet cloth.

"How bad is it?" he asked warily.

"Not as bad as one might imagine," Hermione assured him. "The essence of Dittany should mend this easily, but you should still be careful for the next few days, make sure you don't overexert yourself."

"Does this count as overexerting?" Draco asked teasingly, sliding an arm around Hermione's waist.

She blushed. "No, I suppose not."

"What about this?" he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

"Hey! No snogging in the bed area!" Harry called from where he was standing in the kitchen, making popcorn in a pan on the stove.

Draco and Hermione pulled away from each other and turned to glare at Harry as he shook the pan.

"I'm just saying, we don't need anything happening when we all have to sleep in the same tent," he said with a shrug.

Hermione brought Draco's hand up to her face. "Is my face hot? Its red isn't it? I'm blushing aren't I?"

Draco smirked. "Your face is redder than Ginny's hair."

"Hey!" Ginny cried and promptly threw a throw pillow from one of the couches in the sitting room straight into the boys' area.

Draco caught the pillow and set it aside before looking back at Hermione. "But it makes you look even more beautiful."

Hermione's face broke out into a wide smile and her face turned an even darker shade of red.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Draco shrugged and lay back down on his back. "It's the truth. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"You didn't always use to feel that way," Hermione accused.

Now it was Draco's turn to blush. "Actually…I did…since fourth year…I remember seeing you walk through the Great Hall at the Yule Ball, and thinking how beautiful you were."

The corn in the pan was popping like crazy but Harry wasn't paying any attention. Both he and Ginny were just staring at the other couple, wide eyed and slack jawed.

Hermione smiled shyly. "Really? You really thought I was beautiful?"

"I did," Draco confirmed. "I still do."

Ginny shuffled sideways over to Harry and muttered in his ear, "You think he's going to be propose?"

"Odd time to propose, in a tent and with a minor concussion," Harry replied in a low voice.

Hermione suddenly got to her feet. "I should go and get that Dittany so that we can get your head healed properly. I'll be right back."

And she bustled out into the main part of the tent, where her bag was. Harry got a good look at her face. It was beet red, but she was smiling.

"What I would like to know," Ginny began as Hermione walked back over to the bunk Draco was lying in, "is who killed those Goblins, and why were the other Goblins kept alive? Ragnuk the – whatever the hell the number is – was still alive, but he would have been the one who technically owned the sword. Why didn't the death eaters kill him?"

"You know what's odd," Harry said as he poured the popcorn into one huge bowl and set it on the counter, "is that there was no dark mark over the Goblins' bodies, nothing to show that it was the work of the death eaters. They like people to know when they've murdered someone, it's their pride and joy. So why weren't there any signs that they had been there?"

"Maybe they weren't the ones to kill the Goblins," Ginny suggested, watching as Hermione dabbed the Dittany onto Draco's wound. "And how did the death eaters find us in the first place? Did any of us say _**his**_ name?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Ginny continued on. "I think maybe we were set up, all of us. Someone murdered those four Goblins, let the death eaters know that we were there, and just sat and waited for us to kill each other."

"But who would do something like that?" Hermione called.

"Who has the most to gain?" Ginny asked quietly. "Who was still alive? Who knew we were there?"

"Ragnuk?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it? No matter what Bill says, there must be Goblins who support one side or the other. Ragnuk…maybe he doesn't even support a side, not if he's setting death eaters up…what if the death eaters were going after the sword as well? It was stolen from a vault in Gringotts after all, they must have noticed its missing by now…"

"But the sword in Gringotts…Ginny, it's a fake. Why would anyone steal it?"

"Unless they thought they were getting the real sword?" Draco suggested. "A rogue death eater perhaps? A greedy Goblin who is really, really stupid?"

"So someone stole the fake sword from the Lestrange's vault. Someone else, perhaps, heard that the sword had been stolen – Ragnuk perhaps, if he has family or friends at the bank, he would have heard about it. Or else all the Goblins heard, it must've been a scandal, since no one is ever supposed to be able to break in and out of Gringotts, much less steal something – and then along we come, looking for the real sword, but Ragnuk wants to keep the sword – it is one of the oldest pieces of Goblin craft that still exists, plus one of his ancestors made it – and he's probably heard how persistent we can be. He probably figures we'll be breaking into his flat, so he alerts the death eaters and kills four of his own so that it looks like a death eater attack. He probably thinks it would be the best of both worlds – if we survive, it would scare us enough to get us out of there and never come back, but if the death eaters win, then he'll still never have to worry about us…plus the death eaters would be run through with pitchforks once the Goblin community got hold of their alleged crime."

"But why he kill his own blood kin?" Harry asked. "That's going a bit far, even for a valuable sword."

"Goblins will do anything as long as it's in their own interest," Hermione replied with a shrug. "I'm sure his reasons justified what he had done."

"But what if they weren't his family?" Ginny spoke up. "What if they were just other Goblins, ones who Ragnuk didn't care about?"

Hermione bit her lip. "That does make sense…Goblins are smart, and tricky. I wouldn't put it past him to arrange this whole thing in just a few hours."

"So basically we were set up," Draco confirmed grimly. "We were used to eliminate the other party."

"That's truly evil." Hermione shuddered at the thought.

"Fantastic battle technique though," Draco whistled in appreciation.

"It worked beautifully," Harry agreed, nodding his head.

Hermione rubbed her eyes. "If you guys don't mind, I'm going to go take a shower and then to bed. I'm exhausted and I smell like death eater blood."

"Want some company?" Draco called after her, grinning cheekily.

She turned around, her cheeks tinged a slight pink. "For the shower or bed?"

"Both."

"Sorry, I prefer to do both alone," Hermione retorted, but she was smirking through her blush. She continued on towards the shower and Draco collapsed against his pillow, biting his cheek to try to curve the ridiculous grin that was spreading over his face.

"Remind me again why you two are always denying the sexual chemistry?" Ginny asked, coming over to sit on the end of Draco's mattress.

Harry joined her, carrying a bowl of popcorn. He held it out to Ginny and Draco and both took a handful.

"Excuse me?" Draco directed at Ginny.

"You two are always pretending you don't have sexual chemistry or tension, and I can't figure out why," Ginny explained through a mouthful of popcorn.

"I don't pretend, that's Hermione," Draco corrected.

"You haven't really been after them about that lately, anyway," Harry reminded Ginny. "You were only going on about that _**before**_ they got together. Now she might not mind so much."

Ginny cocked her head to the side. "That's true. Maybe I'll tease her about that tomorrow."

"You better pray she doesn't hex you," Draco warned her.

"Funny, I would say the same thing to _**you**_," Ginny replied.

Draco stared at her, startled. "What – why?"

"Well, with all those innuendos you just sprouted in front of Harry and me…did you see her blush?"

Draco laid back down on his back, listening to the pounding of the shower behind the kitchen and trying to keep his mind focused on the conversation. "Yeah…it was bloody beautiful…"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That wasn't the point you idiot. The point was that, incase you haven't been able to tell, Hermione is extremely private with her feelings and thoughts if they don't have anything to do with whatever book she's currently reading. Me teasing you guys about having sexual chemistry is pushing the limits enough, but those innuendos…get anymore suggestive and we're going to have to activate the sprinkler system, her face will be so hot. She just – be careful who you make the comments in front of because if anyone even considered the idea you two are sleeping together she won't be able to show her face in public ever again. Harry and I are fine, we'd know if you two were shagging – hell, we'd be able to hear you guys – but other people might not realize that you were just teasing – they might actually think you were serious."

Harry turned a snort of laughter into a cough.

Ginny turned her light brown eyes on him. "What?"

"Ginny, he was serious."

"Half-serious," Draco corrected. "Half-teasing."

"And Hermione knew it, I could tell by the look on her face. Do you really think he's going to make comments like that without some sort of hope behind them? Does anyone ever say stuff like that without secretly hoping that the other person will say yes?"

Ginny bit down on her lip, thinking. "I suppose you're right. But seriously, Draco, watch the suggestive comments."

"Do you really think I'm going to ask her if she wants to get naked over shrimp cocktails at your Auntie Muriel's one-hundred-and-ninth birthday party? Please Weasley, I was raised to be polite and tasteful in formal situations, I do have some idea of how to be tactful."

"See, now, that's just shocking."

Draco rolled his eyes, but his ears pricked up as the shower turned off. Hmmm…Quick, think of something else…

"Ginny, I think you've harassed Draco enough. He knows not to say something like that in front of mixed company, he's not stupid."

"I could beg to differ."

"Ginny, come on, let's go and keep watch."

Harry tugged at Ginny's elbow until she relented and walked out of the tent with him.

Draco closed his eyes, trying to block out thoughts of Hermione in the shower, naked…there wasn't enough privacy in the tent for thoughts like that to creep into his mind…

And then he heard the curtain pull back gently and Hermione's soft steps came towards him. The bed covers were folded back a bit and he felt a second body climb into bed with him, the scent of rose and jasmine shampoo wafting over him.

He turned his head to look at Hermione as she snuggled up to him, head on his chest, hand on his stomach. With some difficulty he managed to extract his arm from in-between them and wrapped it around her, pulling her in even closer. He kissed her gently on her temple and her eyes fluttered closed for just a few seconds.

"I heard Ginny giving you _**the talk**_ while I was in the shower," she said quietly.

"How? The shower was running through most of it."

"Did you know Fred and George made waterproof extendable ears?"

"Sneak."

"I heard Ginny start in on you as I closed the bathroom door, and I had my bag in the bathroom with me. I thought I'd listen to the conversation."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"It was interesting. Ginny meant well, but she went about it wrong. I knew you would never say anything like that in front of anyone else; but in her defense, she grew up with Ron, who wouldn't have thought twice about saying that in mixed company."

"Does it bother you when I say stuff like that?"

Hermione tilted her head back so that she could look at him from where she was lying. "No."

And that was that. Draco listened as her breath began light and even and her body lost all tension. He closed his eyes and relaxed against her, falling asleep within a few minutes, sinking into rose and jasmine scented dreams.

Harry and Ginny sat outside, wands out but laying gently against their legs.

"Do you think I was too hard on Draco?" Ginny asked quietly.

Harry turned his almond-shaped emerald green eyes on her. "I think you did what you did was felt was right at the time. Besides, who wants to hear other people make suggestive comments and innuendos at other people? That's just disgusting. But he is a Slytherin after all."

Ginny snickered. "I guess you're right. And Hermione does tend to be a lot more private than everyone

else in this tent. But I suppose Draco already knows that."

"I imagine he's figured it out by now."

Ginny shifted a little uncomfortably. "Do you think they are doing anything without us knowing?"

"When would they get the time?"

"I dunno…now…? There are silencing charms after all."

Harry winced. "I can't see Hermione as agreeing to doing anything of that sort in the tent when we could walk in at any moment. Trust me Ginny, we'll have some idea of what's going on. Plus, Hermione would've probably told you by now."

"Yeah…I suppose…"

"Ginny? Was there – er – something _**you**_ wanted to talk to _**me**_ about?"

There was a pause, and then – "Nope, I'm good, thanks."

* * *

**_Sooo...things are getting a little interesting between all of them...Sorry if this chapter wasn't fantastic, it was more of a filler than anything else. But hopefully their conversation towards the beginning explained a few things. =)_**

**_So, let me know what you think about this chapter! I love hearing from you guys as much as I love chocolate ice cream pie (which is one of my favorite desserts of ALL TIME!)!_**

**_Lots and lots of love,_**

**_Science-Fantasy93 ;)_**


End file.
